by Garth Meyer
Late this spring, homeowners in North Redondo Beach started to receive notices from the city, saying that they are in violation of a code which bans side hedges over six feet and front-setback hedges over 42 inches.
The letters were the result of dozens of complaints purported to be from one person.
Some of these were on Huntington Lane, where Hai Tran has lived in a duplex with his wife since 2020. Residents in the neighborhood say they have maintained their hedges at the same height for decades without complaint.
Those who complied with the letters have ‘seen mature hedges reduced to stumps,” Tran said.
For his own property, which dips below the level of the sidewalk, if the front hedge was 42 inches, it “would effectively eliminate all privacy” for the front-unit tenants, whose windows and outdoor living space face the sidewalk.
After Tran and his wife received their letter, he contacted District Four City Councilman Zein Obagi, Jr., and Tran and others affected began to appear at city council meetings to speak about the issue.
City Manager Mike Witzansky responded June 9 saying that there will be no additional enforcement of the hedge height limits.
“That’s the direction I’ve given to the (police department), given the circumstances,” Witzansky said.
“Our code for these types of things is stale,” he continued, referring to laws that go back to the 1960s.
“We need to make changes to the code.”
The codes’ intention was to address line of sight, for safety.
“It’s more relevant for properties at the corners,” Tran said, pointing out that Redondo Beach today is different from when the codes were written.
“It’s important to have some privacy when things are so dense,” he said.
City Councilman Scott Behrendt, an attorney, said at the June 9 council meeting that he is working on revisions to the code.
The current rules also limit rear hedges to six feet.
“Today, with two-on-a-lots, three-on-a-lots (there are fewer backyards),” Tran said.
He lives in the back unit of his duplex, and rents out the front.
“The city has been listening,” Tran said.
The matter is expected to go before the city council as an agenda item later this summer. ER
The reason this happens is that no one actually proactively looks at old laws on the books. Cities and Counties should review laws every 10-15 years or so to make sure they are consistent with modern realities. We shouldn’t have to wait until someone is in violation. It is really not that difficult, particularly now with AI, these laws can be checked in hours, if not minutes.