Governor’s brother-inlaw among residents told to clip their greens or pay hefty fines
(Editor’s note: This is the first article in an ongoing series examining City Hall’s hedge law.) ADELAIDE DRIVE — There is something criminal going on here — the hedges are too tall.
Residents of this street lined with multi-million dollar homes overlooking Santa Monica Canyon and the Pacific Ocean recently were mailed notices demanding that they clip their greens or be fined $25,000 a day, with a maximum penalty of $500,000.
Among those targeted was 27-year local resident Bobby Shriver, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s brother-in-law. Shriver’s front hedges are about six inches over the 42-inch limit.
“The city, they say, doesn’t have the money to hire teachers, but they apparently have money to hire a huge compliance staff. Why? There’s got to be a reason,” said Shriver, 50, an attorney who works in Beverly Hills. “It seems kind of like a waste of time.”
Shriver and his neighbors — some with hedges towering 20 to 30 feet high — received notices late last month giving them 30 days to manicure their yards. Local law dictates hedges be kept at or below 42 inches in front of houses, and at or below eight feet in side yards and back yards.
Residents wonder why City Hall has decided to enforce the law now, especially on a street that regularly attracts walkers, joggers and sightseers who enjoy its views and landscaping.
“We have historic trees, we have beautiful trees,” said Alvin Sargent, an accomplished film writer and 20-year resident of Santa Monica. “Suddenly, out of the blue, comes this order to cut down these things to eight feet... We don’t know where it started and we’d like to find out.
“They’re tall,” Sargent, 77, added. “They protect us from the back alley. They give us privacy. They don’t interfere with anybody or anything, that I know of.”
Tim McCormick, head of City Hall’s building department, said newly hired compliance officers have targeted about 200 residents throughout Santa Monica whose hedges are too high. The goal is to prompt residents into complying, McCormick said, adding actual fines may be far less than $500,000.
“We have dedicated staff now to enforce provisions of the safety codes that are focusing on things like signs, outdoor merchandise, fences and hedge heights,” he said. “Both City Council, planning and (the Architectural Review Board) have all expressed concerns about enforcing our zoning regulations and they have identified those areas... We’ve been adding staff for, I think, the last three budgetary cycles.”
McCormick said there are two reasons to control hedge height. Hedges can cause safety problems — especially at intersections where they can limit visibility — and they can make houses look like “armed fortresses,” said McCormick, who added citations are driven by complaints.
“We are willing to work with people, but they should understand that our job is to enforce these laws,” he added. “If people have concerns about the content of the laws, they should talk to their council members.”
Reacting to resident complaints about the law, City Councilmen Bob Holbrook and Herb Katz have put a special item on tonight’s City Council agenda, asking staff to report on the codes regulating hedge heights. Holbrook said he thinks different areas of Santa Monica should have different restrictions.
Meanwhile, a handful of people working out on Adelaide Drive and the stairs leading into Santa Monica Canyon said they think the hedges — and their owners — should be left alone.
“People want privacy — privacy and solitude,” said Santa Monica resident Cara Basso, 28, a nutri-tionalist. “I like (the hedges) because they’re vegetation. It adds oxygen, greenery around us... I say leave everyone alone. Let them do what they want, as long as they’re not hurting anybody. Let them be.
“It’s hard enough that we come up here and there’s so many people bombarding around their homes.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 11, 2004. Read the original PDF.