We're having fun imagining what series of snits led to the Trousdale Estates View Restoration Ordinance, which was confirmed this week by the Beverly Hills city council, according to the Beverly Hills Patch. The ordinance lays out very detailed procedures that residents of the hilltop Trousdale Estates neighborhood must follow if their neighbors' trees are blocking their views. This is referred to as NIMNBYism. The ordinance specifies that Trousdale trees can only be "at a height of one (1) foot above the height of the roof of the primary residential structure on foliage owner’s property, not to exceed a maximum height of fifteen (15) feet as measured from grade."
If a tree exceeds the height limit, the ordinance says that the view owner has to try dealing with his neighbor privately first, using a city form and outlining "the remedy sought by view owner" and including "a good faith estimate of the cost of the remedy, and an offer to pay that amount." If that doesn't fix things, the view owner can request city-sponsored, non-binding mediation. And if that fails, the view owner can get a View Restoration Permit, which will require a public hearing process. The permit will allow for the removal or alteration of "foliage on any lot that is all or partly within five hundred feet (500’) of a View Owner’s property," so long as it meets a series of requirements. And of course, as Patch points out, "View owners can take the matter to civil court at any point in the process to enforce a foliage owner's compliance with a view restoration permit issued by the city."
The only question left is what Beverly Hills is going to do with all the free time it has now that it doesn't have to deal with those Trousdale tree complaints.
· Trousdale View Ordinance Gets Another Council OK [BH Patch]
· Trousdale Estates View Restoration Ordinance (pdf) [Bevery Hills]
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