VOICES - It’s back! The 1400 Linda Flora Drive invasion of Bel Air!
The owner, Eri Kroh, according to a document given me in May, plans to construct a 46,659 square feet residential development … of which 29,694 square feet is the above grade residence (including balconies and loggias) and 16,695 square feet is the below-grade garage/basement space.
Additionally the accessory living quarters (servants living quarters) which is terraced into the descending slope is planned at 4,523 square feet (larger than adjacent property homes).
And, there will be an accessory summer house with a total of 600 square feet.
In order to build the house, a private 20 foot wide driveway will connect lower Linda Flora Drive with upper Linda Flora Drive.
Initially this private driveway will be gated but there is no guarantee for the future.
To build the driveway, two 10’ tall retaining walls, approximately 1,600 feet long and separated by 3 feet, will need to be constructed above some 30 homes on Roscomare Road.
The project requires lopping off a ridge and the movement of some 75,000 cubic yards of dirt all on site. All dirt is supposed to go on the Hoag Canyon-Moraga Road side. Imagine the number of cement trucks as well as equipment to move some 7,500 truck-loads of earth coming up Linda Flora Drive over a multi-year construction period.
The project claims it is a “by right” project not requiring any variances or exceptions to applicable Building or Zoning Codes. However the new Baseline Hillside Ordinance, which was passed in May, would not allow the project . The owner is claiming that the project is “grandfathered”.
Attorneys have been hired and Bel Air neighborhoods are organizing to protect the affected communities.
The Bel Air Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council is requesting an additional environmental review and public hearings on this project. The Federation of Hillside and Canyon Associations (33 homeowner associations) and The Roscomare Valley Association representing (885 homeowners in West LA) both oppose this project.
This is yet another example of legal stakeholder interests … as expressed by ordinance … being ignored. This is yet another neighborhood invasion that must be stopped.
(Steve Twining is a long-time neighborhood activist. He has served as Chair of both the Bel Air Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council and the Federation of Hillside and Canyon Associations.) -cw
Tags: Bel Air, Linda Flora Drive, Roscomare Road, Building and Zoning Codes, Baseline Hillside Ordinance
CityWatch
Vol 9 Issue 71
Pub: Sept 6, 2011