Wildlife ordinance gets a green light for LA City Council vote

Los Angeles City Hall saw a coalition of developers, homeowners and real estate agents argue against environmentalists on June 20 during an emotional meeting of the City Council’s Planning & Land Use Management Committee that discussed a proposed wildlife ordinance that would require limits on development around Los Angeles’ Santa Monica Mountains and Griffith Park.

The wildlife ordinance made it through a significant milestone Tuesday when members of the committee unanimously voted to send the ordinance to the wider City Council. A vote has not been scheduled with the full council. 

Before the vote, Councilman John Lee made a request to send the ordinance to the Planning Department for more review, but his motion received no support. Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez was absent.

Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky has served as one of the current council’s major supporters of the bill which had been making its way through the halls of city government since 2014. She told the committee that development in hillside areas of Los Angeles were dangerous to animals and people. 

“I get lots of calls from constituents talking about mudslides and flooding because of construction practices happening on the hillsides above them. It’s created dangerous conditions for residents and for animals,” Yaroslavsky said.

During more than an hour of public comments, supporters and opponents of the bill squared off. Supporters alleged that development in forested areas has long been unsustainable. They say insurance companies such as State Farm tacitly gave their position a vote of confidence when it recently pulled out from issuing new policies for property insurance in California because of wildfire risk.

Opponents such as Jon Grauman, an agent with residential real estate firm The Agency, said the bill would upend property rights and values. 

“The idea that we have to choose between protecting our planet and protecting homeowners is a false narrative. We can do this without pillaging people’s life savings,” Grauman said. 

He urged the committee to reconsider parts of the bill he considered controversial such as that buildings and structures cannot cover more than 50 percent of the total square footage on a property. 

Other parts of the ordinance would protect wildlife and biodiversity by limiting fencing and tree removal. The ordinance also regulates soil grading for construction.

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