Residents urge pause and review of hedge‑enforcement after dozens cited

At the public‑comment portion of the June 2 meeting, a string of residents from northern Redondo Beach asked the council to pause enforcement of prize‑hedge and hedge‑separation notices while the city revises its complaint and enforcement policies.

Julie Perino told the council she is one of more than 50 residents affected by recent enforcement and urged staff to set pending notices aside during the ordinance review: “I respectfully ask the council to direct the city attorney to recommend a pause on enforcement of pending notices during this review,” she said. Perino warned that residents have already taken irreversible actions and paid significant sums to comply with notices produced under a process she called “ambiguous.”

Other speakers — including Joe Dresner, Daniella Woodnicki and Hai Chen — described similar experiences: notices they said originated from a single non‑neighbor complainant, demands to remove mature vegetation that residents contend provides privacy and environmental benefits, and inconsistency between the ordinance language and enforcement direction from staff. Woodnicki said some residents were being told to perform pruning that certified arborists say can kill trees.

Speakers asked for three concrete requests: 1) a formal, temporary pause on enforcement while the code and complaint procedures are revised; 2) clear, measurable standards (for example, how to measure a continuous hedge and separation between trunks); and 3) an appeals process so residents can challenge citations without being forced into irreversible landscaping changes.

City staff acknowledged the concerns and noted that council members had already directed more review; council members asked staff to return with options and clarifying standards. No formal change was adopted at the meeting; several speakers were asked to provide photos and contact information to staff for follow‑up.