Now that Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin are splitting up, all their fancy Brentwood neighbors are spilling tons of shit about them to gossip rags; when celebrities go through personal turmoil, we all win. (Except for the celebrities.) Then again, it's not like the neighbors could go right to the couple—they're only allowed to deal with a middleman named Oliver, neighbors tell Radar. And it sounds like Oliver had a lot to hear about. In June 2012, Paltrow and Martin picked up a handsome house in Bwood's Mandeville Canyon neighborhood and immediately put up an illegal nine-foot-tall fence that remains there to this day. And that's just the beginning:
They're so private it's illegal: Upon moving in, the couple put in "four layers of huge fir trees surrounding the property," "Do Not Trespass" signs everywhere, and that nine-foot-tall black fence, which is waaaay taller than the three and a half feet allowed by the zoning there. Someone filed a complaint with the Department of Building and Safety last year, but it hasn't done any good; maybe Paltrow and Martin just swallowed the tiny little $900 fine.
Their property's a construction site: "There was always work being done at the house," one very generous neighbor tells Radar, "I only got annoyed when the workmen would illegally park in my driveway and they hadn't even spoken to me about it." Apparently Martin was building a studio.
They're not very friendly: The neighbors say they were never allowed to speak with Paltrow or Martin, only a man named Oliver "who seems to deal with all their issues to do with their neighbors, the house and community." Others say Paltrow was never around but that Martin could be seen out walking the dogs. One neighbor also claims Paltrow is the retaliatory type: "I don't want anything bad to happen to me, so I can't say anything. Last time I did, then it was difficult, so now I don't want any problems."
Paltrow and Martin (or more likely just one of them) just bought the John Lautner-designed Garwood Residence in Malibu, which sits on an acre of land, so hopefully the neighbors there will be spared.
· Gwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin – Neighbors From Hell! Residents Of Los Angeles Community Say Divorcing Couple Have Made Life A Nightmare On Their Street [RadarOnline]
· Gwyneth Paltrow Buying Windsor Smith House in Brentwood [Curbed LA]
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