City to Turn New Leaf on Old Tree Law : Hedge: Proposed changes to height limits could cause spite wars in Huntington Beach neighborhoods, resident says.

Jerri Hesprich had hoped her crusade would save thousands of tall trees in the city. But a proposed solution that goes before the City Council tonight would only make a bad situation worse, she says.

“This could bring spite wars by neighbors all over the city,” Hesprich predicted.

At issue is a quirk in city law that declares trees over six feet tall illegal if they are used along property lines as a hedge.

Hesprich, whose back yard on Garden Circle is bordered by Italian cypress trees ranging from 20 to 30 feet tall, learned of the tree-height law last fall when a neighbor complained to the city. Hesprich subsequently was served with a notice to top all her trees to a maximum of six feet. A professional tree expert, however, told Hesprich and her husband, Glen Hesprich, that chopping the trees down to such a height would kill them.

The Hespriches, in desperation, appealed to the City Council last November. They found a sympathetic ear in Councilman Don MacAllister, who expressed surprise at the tree-height law. “If we enforced that ordinance strictly, we’d have to cut down trees all over the city,” MacAllister said. At MacAllister’s urging, the council unanimously passed a resolution putting a moratorium on the tree-height law and asking the city staff to propose a change in the law.

The proposal comes before the council tonight. In effect, it would put all allow tree hedges taller than six feet to remain intact, unless someone complains. But if someone complained about tall trees, the change would authorize the affected property owner to seek a use permit that would legalize the trees.

Geri Ortega, chairwoman of the city Planning Commission, said the proposed change would provide for an orderly way of protecting property owners on both sides of a tree dispute. She said the tree owners would have possible relief, while neighbors would still have protection against trees that they felt cut out views or sunlight.

Ortega said she opposes a grandfather clause that would legalize all existing tall-tree hedges in the city. “In some cases trees 18 to 25 feet high could block an entire ocean view, or any view,” she said. “And in some cases those trees could have so much shade that they’d kill a neighbor’s lawn. They could be a very bad nuisance.”

Hesprich claims that the Planning Commission’s proposed change would only tempt Huntington Beach residents into battles with their neighbors, using tall trees as their ammunition.

“It would be an endless spite war,” she said. “And it would cost people trying to defend their trees an awful lot of money.”

Applying for the permits and obtaining architectural drawings required to keep the trees could run into the hundreds, and possibly thousands, of dollars, Hesprich said. And the dispute could still wind up in court.

Hesprich said she will urge the council to resolve the issue simply by removing the word hedges from the height limit. She said the city could still provide for intervention in cases where trees, or other types of hedges, caused genuine “health and safety” problems.

Ortega said she does not agree with Hesprich’s proposal. “I am hoping the City Council will accept the unanimous recommendation of its Planning Commission,” she said.

She acknowledged, however, that a lively public hearing and debate are likely to precede the council’s vote tonight. “It’s become quite an emotional issue,” she said.