Photo: Shawnda Thomas Faveau, March 2, 2008. The steepness of the slope is not immediately evident in aerial photos of the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract. (Click on photo to enlarge.)
Tomorrow, the City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works will hear the request to remove 42 native trees on the approved 16-lot subdivision in the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract. (Neighbors lost their final appeal in 2009.)
Board of Public Works Meeting
Wed, September 28, 2011
9:30 AM
City Hall, Room 350
(Edward Royball BPW Session Room)
200 N. Spring Street
Los Angeles CA 90012
**UPDATE 9-27-11: According to late word from CD13, this item will be continued to a date to be determined, although it still appears on the agenda.
Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 13, 2009. Developers' claim the (above) Heritage Coast Live Oak in the slope below El Moran will remain despite required grading well into its rootball, right up to the edge of the trunk. Cutting so far into the roots will likely kill this significant tree, perhaps not immediately, but eventually. (Click on photo to enlarge.)
Last Thursday, Planet Home Living promised they were committed to building the planned 15-home development on the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract. Neighbors asked them to withdraw the request for their tree removal permits, as a sign of good faith, until they received their building permits. Less than 24 hours later, they put the land up for sale again.
As of Monday, a check of the Building & Safety website for permit activity on 2400 Allesandro, indicates no grading permits have been applied for, despite developers' claim to the contrary.
The tree removal permit should not be approved without first having received permits for grading and construction of the 15 homes. The risk of another developer abandoning plans to build are so high, it is not worth leaving a denuded hillside while we wait for another developer to try again. Developers admitted more than 60 trees would be removed from the site.
The Legacy of Failed Development in our neighborhood has persisted for decades.
