There's nothing quite like a good neighbor spat in the Hills (see: Hollywood Sign Viewing Spot Wars, Saudi Prince megacompound battle). Today's entry comes from Laurel Canyon, where the homeowners on Grand View Drive are pissed at Santa Monica-based developer Michael Smith and his mansion-building ways--and they've produced a dramatic video to prove it. LA Weekly reports that "while turning the house at 8401 into a three-story mansion with a pool ... [he] ravaged the skinny, fragile streets leading up to the construction site by plowing backhoes and excavators through without padding." One neighbor supposedly "moved out of her home because she was afraid Smith's tractors would slide down the hill and possibly kill her sons while they played in her yard." Smith finished the building two years ago (and flipped it), but last month started work adding a pool at 8407 and 8409 Grand View--this time, the neighbors complained and got a Department of Building & Safety inspector to come out and revoke a permit based on a missed neighborhood hearing. Meanwhile, Smith blithely says "the neighbors have a lot of time on their hands."
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