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Council approves city lien after building safety work on Pacific Palisades slope
Summary
The City Council voted to place a lien to recover city costs after the Department of Building and Safety and other city forces built a street-facing protective wall at a Pacific Palisades site where a private developer did not complete required retaining work. The motion passed 12-0.
The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved a motion to place a city lien to recover costs for emergency stabilization work performed on a hillside property in Pacific Palisades, acting after a developer failed to comply with orders to build retaining structures.
The action stems from years of trouble at a group of adjoining lots north of Sunset in the Castlemar/Caltrans-retaining-wall area. Residents told the council the property owner had been excavating the slope instead of building required retaining walls; when the owner did not comply with orders, the city installed a surface protection wall along the street to protect motorists and adjacent properties.
Residents urged enforcement and cost recovery. Mary Anne Pearl, who identified herself as a neighbor, asked the council to hold the property owner responsible for the city’s expenses and warned of ongoing risks to adjoining homes. “Mister Adeut as any other citizen must be held responsible for his actions,” Pearl said during public comment.
City staff described the technical facts and the emergency work carried out by the Bureau of Building and Safety and by field crews. A staff summary presented to councilmembers said the city had attempted to secure compliance and, after the developer failed to act, constructed a street-level wall to prevent falling debris from threatening the public right-of-way.
Councilmembers voted to adopt the assessment/lien related to the city’s remedial work; the clerk recorded the vote as 12 ayes.
What’s next: The lien will appear as a city assessment against the property to recover the city’s costs; staff indicated the Bureau of Building and Safety and related departments will proceed with the administrative steps to record and collect the assessment.
The item drew sustained public comment from multiple neighbors and a description of the enforcement steps taken by city staff to protect the public and adjacent private property.
