This article was written by Matt Lopez and published by the Beverly Hills Courier
Bel-Air residents tired of unruly, out-of-control construction with little oversight from the City of Los Angeles finally have a seat at the table to at least attempt to affect some change.
Dan Love, treasurer of the Bel-Air Homeowners Alliance (BAHA), was elected last week to the Bel-Air/Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council.
The organization, although not a decision-making body, is certified by the City of L.A. to represent the area’s hillside communities.
The group’s website says it’s goal is “to promote better and safer neighborhoods through our work on issues of land use, transportation, city services and quality of life.”
Love said he felt Bel-Air homeowners were “not being represented in a meaningful way” considering the rash of construction that has been a bane in the existence of Bel-Air residents over the last year.
Issues with dirt hauling, illegally parked trucks, and unpermitted construction work have run rampant and residents feel little has been done by the city to curb it.
“The deeper in it I get, the more important I realize it is for us to have a voice,” Love said.
Love said one of the top items on his agenda to get the council to consider is limiting the amount of soil allowed to be exported from construction lots and driven through the narrow streets of Bel-Air.
Love, in a BAHA Position Statement unanimously accepted by the council, recommends limiting it to 5,000 cubic yards of soil.
Love also said he wants the council to develop a process for providing additional oversight and permit review to extraordinarily large single-family residence projects (meaning greater than 20,000 feet).
In addition, Love said he hoped the City of L.A. CEQA guidelines could be amended to trigger elevated environmental review for those extra large single-family homes.
The neighborhood council, which featured 23 members before Love’s election, meets once a month.