Lear, Neighbors Reach Accord on Tennis Court

A year-old dispute between television producer Norman Lear and his neighbors over a large garage and tennis court Lear built at his Sullivan Canyon home has been resolved, a spokesman for the neighborhood group said.

Neighbors who claimed that Lear built his tennis-court-topped garage in violation of city height restrictions have agreed to drop their objections in exchange for a number of changes to the project, said Rob Deutschman, who is Lear’s next-door neighbor.

Deutschman said Lear has agreed to complete extensive landscaping to screen the tennis court from view, restrict hours of play and omit lighting from the court.

In turn, the neighbors on Tuesday requested that a Board of Zoning Appeals panel grant the Lear the variance he requested to build a fence around the tennis court.

The variance was granted Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the Board of Zoning Appeals said.

Lear’s attorney, Allan Abshez, did not return phone calls.

Lear began building the tennis court, which tops a 21-car garage, on his property last summer.

In January, the city Building and Safety Commission denied an appeal by neighbors to stop work on the project. “We tried to find some middle ground we could all live with, and it looks like we’ve done that,” said Deutschman.