San Fernando Valley : Alleyway Gardener Now Faces Eviction

A gardener who turned a vacant Sylmar alleyway into a miniature oasis--but managed to raise the ire of some neighbors along with her marigolds--may now be evicted by those neighbors, the Los Angeles City Council has ruled.

Neighbors said, however, that Victoria O’Casey had moved her plants from the alley before the council turned the alley back over to adjacent property owners Tuesday, leaving it to neighbors to decide the garden’s fate.

One of those property owners, Beth Block, said all that remains now is “buildings and garbage.”

O’Casey did not return phone calls.

Although media reports on the city’s threats to bulldoze O’Casey’s garden prompted a public outcry, Block contended that O’Casey used locked gates to keep others out and erected buildings in the alley.

“I can see no garden,” Block said. “All I can see are bamboo fences and sheds.”

One of those sheds, Block said, was more than a place to sketch, as O’Casey had contended. Block said the shed at one time contained a bed, an answering machine and a toilet.

Edna Cooper, who along with husband, Gil, has lived on the other side of the alley since 1947, said the garden at first was a welcome swath of green.

“From our standpoint, we much preferred her garden than what was there before,” Cooper said.