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Politics & Government

Panel Weighs 9/11 Memorial Design

The Architectural Commission considers a proposal to use an 18-foot piece of the fallen World Trade Center.

Beverly Hills police and fire department officials on Wednesday proposed a design for a 9/11 memorial to the city's Architectural Commission.

The proposal they submitted features a memorial made out of an 18-foot piece of twisted steel recovered from the World Trade Center after the 2001 attacks. New York's Port Authority contacted Beverly Hills city officials about an opportunity to acquire the piece of steel, said Joe Matsch, a Beverly Hills firefighter who addressed the commission.

"When the Port Authority contacts you and tells you to do it, you want to do it," Matsch said.

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The design of the memorial isn't final yet, but the location has been decided. It will be built on the northwest corner of Rexford Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard, next to the fire department headquarters. It will cost $350,000-$375,000 to assemble, and only private funds will be used, Matsch said.

Matsch came to the meeting to "solicit comments from the commission," according to Wednesday's agenda.  The commission meets the third Wednesday of every month to review any commercial or multifamily building projects in Beverly Hills.

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"Very dramatic, very appropriate," said Commissioner Allen Rennett about the proposed design of the memorial.

The presentation included architectural renderings of the memorial, which includes benches, bubbler fountains featuring water jets and mock twin towers designed to be slightly shorter than the piece of steel. The presentation also included a slideshow displaying  9/11 memorials from around the country that also feature steel recovered from ground zero.

"My feeling is less is more," Rennett said. "I don't see that having the towers there really adds anything."

Commissioner Walter Meyer, an architect himself, echoed that sentiment.

"I think that having the towers replicated and the steel and the flags is too much," Meyer said. "I think the seriousness of the event can kind of overwhelm in a good way. I would feel better without the towers."

Fire and police officials will take the commission's suggestions into account and submit a redesign at the July 21 architectural commission meeting.

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