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La Habra Heights council sends disputed Canola Road tree plan back to planning commission
Summary
After neighbors accused the applicant of intentionally cutting mature screening trees, the council directed the planning commission to reconsider the tree‑replacement plan for 1730 Canola Road and to require setbacks, irrigation restoration and mature evergreen screening to be planted before any construction; council approved the referral unanimously.
Mayor John Pepisa opened a lengthy public hearing on a tree‑replacement plan for a new single‑family residence on Canola Road, where neighbors say mature screening trees were removed in violation of approved plans.
Multiple neighbors and nearby residents told the council the removals were deliberate and left their properties exposed. Stephen Blagdon, who identified himself as a Citron Road resident and city historian, told the council that the city’s earlier accounting decisions had left the fire department underfunded and framed the tree dispute as part of a larger pattern of weak enforcement. “If I steal your wallet containing $200 cash and I give you back 20, you haven't been made whole,” Blagdon said, arguing the city should record performance standards and allow affected neighbors to seek legal and financial remedies if required screening is not maintained.
James Crabb, a…
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