About

About Brian Rosenstein

Husband, father, neighbor, business leader, philanthropist, and public servant — a fourth-generation Angeleno appointed by Mayor Karen Bass to the Los Angeles City Planning Commission and confirmed unanimously by City Council.

Brian Rosenstein is a Los Angeles City Planning Commissioner and the Chairman & CEO of Brookhill Corp., a privately held real estate investment firm he has led since 2018. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he is a fourth-generation member of the May family — founders of The May Department Stores Company, one of the largest retail enterprises in American history and philanthropic and community leaders for over a century. His family’s Hollywood heritage runs through Oscar-winning director Mervyn LeRoy (The Wizard of Oz, Little Caesar, Quo Vadis).

He attended Harvard-Westlake School and earned a BA in Liberal Arts with a minor in Geography from California State University, Northridge. A lifelong Democrat, Brian lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children — plus three cats and a dog.

“I’ve spent my career thinking about housing — how it’s built, how it’s owned, how it shapes the lives of the families who live in it. Los Angeles is the city that raised me, and right now it’s a city that working families can’t afford to live in, and where too many of our neighbors are sleeping outside. That’s not the LA I grew up in, and it’s not the LA we have to settle for. Public service is how I’m trying to be part of the answer.”

— Brian Rosenstein

Public Service

As a Los Angeles City Planning Commissioner — appointed by Mayor Karen Bass and unanimously confirmed by City Council — Brian helps oversee zoning, development approvals, and land-use policy for one of the most complex urban markets in the country. He has worked both sides of the table, as a long-term real estate operator and as a land-use decision-maker, and advocates for permit-pathway reform, rezoning plans that reflect real housing demand, and a more pragmatic approach that moves faster than the current system allows.

New to how this works? Read his guide: What Is a City Planning Commission?

Brookhill Corporation

Brookhill Corp. is a real estate investment firm founded in 1977 by Brian’s grandfather, David May II. Under Brian’s leadership as Chairman & CEO, Brookhill owns and manages a diversified national portfolio of more than $500 million in income-producing assets across 15 states — including 1,500+ apartment homes, 1.5 million square feet of industrial space, and 150,000 square feet of neighborhood retail. Brookhill is a long-term owner-operator, focused on responsible ownership and durable cash flow rather than speculative development.

Philanthropy

As Board Member and Vice President of the Wilbur May Foundation, Brian helps direct more than $3 million in annual charitable giving to organizations serving children, families, and people in crisis across Los Angeles — including Project Angel Food, Venice Family Clinic, Public Counsel, and the LACER After School Program. He led the family’s $6.5 million lead gift for the Anita May Rosenstein Campus at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the foundation’s most visible investment in the city.

At a Glance

Areas of Expertise