City officials consider changes to ordinance adopted in 2005
CITY HALL The ongoing hedge height wars of Santa Monica continue tonight, when City Council considers changes to an interim ordinance that would streamline an appeals process for neighbors of the tall bushes.
The council will be asked to amend an ordinance regulating hedge height and maintenance, possibly adding language to clarify criteria used to assess appeals and include a requirement that all hedges that are legal, but do not comply with existing rules, be registered with City Hall.
“We asked staff to use some magic and come up with an ordinance to make it a fair and reasonable way for the city to resolve the issues,” said City Council member Bob Holbrook.
The interim ordinance was adopted in July 2005 in response to the so-called “hedge wars,” which erupted in 2004 when City Hall stepped up its efforts in enforcing a 1948 law and mandated that 200 residences cut their hedges or face a steep $25,000-a-day fine.
The ordinance requires that hedges in the front yard not exceed 42 inches.
“I think the entire Council intends to maintain (the interim ordinance) and I think we struck the right balance between the rights of people with existing hedges and concerns of others about walling off too much to the community,” said City Council member Ken Genser.
The proposed amendments in the interim ordinance will address several outstanding issues, including establishing a clear process by which the city zoning administrator and Planning Commission would review appeals by neighbors.
The proposed amendment lists criteria considered in the appeals hearing — including a history of prior complaints that might demonstrate an ongoing quality of life issue; whether the hedges are higher than they need to be in order to achieve privacy; and if the neighbor frequently incurs expenses in maintaining hedges that encroach into their property.
City staff is also recommending that the appellant demonstrate how the hedge affects their use of outdoor space. “(We wanted) an appeal program that was fair to both sides,” Holbrook said.
Also proposed is an amendment that would require that all grandfathered hedges — those that existed prior to the implementation of the interim ordinance and are legal even if they don’t conform to current rules — be registered with City Hall.
When the interim ordinance was first passed in 2005, the city manager allowed residents to voluntarily register their non-conforming fences, hedges and walls. About 900 residents did so.
If the revised interim ordinance is approved, residents will have until Nov. 15, 2007 to register their grandfathered hedges.
“After this second registration process ends, no party will be able to assert a legal non-conforming right for any fence, wall or hedge in the city, unless it has been registered through this or the prior process,” the city staff report states.
Another source of debate — hedge maintenance — is addressed in the revised ordinance to require that the shrubbery be maintained so that it does not hang into the abutting property. If it does, neighbors would have the right to remove the portions that invades their property and charge the owner for any related costs.
The ordinance is set to expire on Sept. 30 and city staff is recommending that Council extend the deadline to Jan. 9, 2010.
The battle over hedge heights has pitted neighbor against neighbor in this city. Many of the residents who violated the law in 2004 contend that the hedges are used for privacy, blocking prying eyes. Those who supported regulations argued that hedges affect the quality of life in Santa Monica and create a fortress-like environment in neighborhoods, making the city an uninviting place for pedestrians.
The discussion tonight is the first reading of the proposed changes. If favorable, the council would approve the amendments later at a future meeting.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 24, 2007. Read the original PDF.