Political Peril in the Mountains

Perennially threatened by fire and slides, the Santa Monica Mountains are well known as a dangerous place to live. What you may not know is that the mountains are just as dangerous to govern.

Incumbent homeowners ferociously resist the arrival of newcomers. The rugged topography raises safety issues that must be decided by elected officials relying on conflicting technical advice. Environmentalists are major players, for the mountains are a playground for the entire region.

A playground, but also a political graveyard. Two decades ago, then-City Councilman Jim Potter was beaten by Joel Wachs because homeowners felt he’d allowed too many houses to be built in the Santa Monicas. Two years ago, anti-development homeowners in the far western portion of the mountain range put together a rebellion against Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, giving him a real scare before he finally won reelection.

So it’s easy to understand the potential dangers awaiting Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Woo in a small--but symbolic--dispute with one of his mountain constituents, Andrew Suser. Suser owns a home in the Hollywoodland subdivision on a narrow street in Beachwood Canyon, in the portion of the mountains known as the Hollywood Hills.

Property owner Russell Belinsky owns the lot on the steep hillside above Suser’s. With his lot zoned for single-family residences, Belinsky in 1989 applied for a permit to build a three-story house. As his lawyer later explained, Belinsky and his wife are a young couple simply attempting to follow the law and build a house.

However, citing recent city restrictions on home construction in the area, Planning Department officials at first turned Belinsky down. But when Belinsky’s geologist reported that construction would be safe, the department reversed itself and supported his application, subject to several safety conditions.

Woo, a cautious man respectful of procedure, went along with the city bureaucrats. As Woo explained it to me, if he overruled the officials, the city could be hit with a huge lawsuit from an outraged property owner. As is the custom, the other council members deferred to the councilman from the district and approved the project.

About that time, Suser called me. He told me the construction threatened his house and the safety of his family.

I try to avoid these stories. I’m as confused as the politicians by the conflicting geological claims. But Suser kept calling. He besieged me with documents, some of them arriving in envelopes marked with red “rush” and “confidential” labels. He didn’t get mad at my failure to report on them. Nor did he lose his temper when I confessed that one of my cats had chewed up the construction site photographs he had loaned me.

Finally, impressed by his persistence, I went to see him.

Suser gave me his geologist’s report:”Although it may be feasible to construct two residences on the steep slopes ascending from your property, there appears to be inadequate data to substantiate safety. . . .”

He showed me the proposed building site, on a narrow, unpaved hillside road that serves as a hiking trail into Griffith Park. The city spread out below, from downtown’s towers to the Westside to Santa Monica Bay in the distance. Behind us was the park.

While the hillside was too steep for me to live on, I could see why Belinsky wanted to build there. For all the political complications, it’s a beautiful spot.

Although only one house is involved, the building site’s close proximity to Griffith Park has made the issue important to Santa Monica Mountains preservationists--so important that it might come to haunt Woo if he decides, as expected, to run for mayor in 1993.

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, a state agency created to stop overdevelopment, unsuccessfully intervened early this year. In attempting to persuade the City Council to block the construction of the house, conservancy official John Diaz said, “The proposed project would adversely impact the Griffith Park watershed, disrupt a natural watercourse and wildlife corridor and obliterate one of the few remaining active trails in the area.”

Diaz told me that there are about 170 such Hollywoodland vacant lots adjacent to Griffith Park, and if this house is approved, it may clear the way for other projects.

The battle over the Belinsky house, combined with similar disputes, could unite environmentalists and homeowners against Woo. Woo was elected to the council as a slow-growth environmentalist. But if he puts an environmental plank in mayoral platform, Hollywoodland homeowners would be certain to shred it.

No wonder politicians think the Santa Monica Mountains may be a great spot to visit, but not a safe place to represent.