Mailboxes: ask before you build, city says

Longtime La Cañada resident Sunny Asch was pretty proud of the beautiful brick mailbox enclosure her contractor built a few weeks ago. It was quite an aesthetically pleasing replacement for her old, rusting-out black metal mailbox.

The new, 48-inch-tall structure fit perfectly, poised to the side of the red brick stairway that leads up to the home her parents built more than 50 years ago at the corner of Valley Crest Street and Princess Anne Road.

That is, she was proud of it until within days she was contacted by the city of La Cañada Flintridge’s public works department, letting her know the mailbox doesn’t conform to city code and will need to be taken down and replaced.

Problem is, Asch said, city code and federal government postal regulations aren’t necessarily coordinated and, when she called the post office to find out about its regulations she was told very different rules from what the city required.

“I’m not opposed to rebuilding,” she said. “But, I’d just like to see something in writing that shows how the post office and the city want this done. I’d like some clear guidelines.”

Public Works Director Edward Hitti said the problem isn’t with the federal or city regulations, though he agrees there are some differences between the two, since the post office doesn’t have specific regulations for boxes placed at an intersection, such as with Asch’s mailbox.

“When you’re at a curb return, intersection, the federal [regulations] don’t get into curb return. But, they say to check with the city requirements,” Hitti said, adding that at a curb return — for safety concerns — the city requires additional setback, height requirements and for the structure to be a “break-away” box. That means the structure needs to be hollow, and built so it is less dangerous to a mail carrier or other vehicle that might inadvertently run into it. “We don’t want people to get hurt,” he said.

Hitti said the mailbox structure Asch had built is “a nice one,” but Asch ran into difficulties because she didn’t check with the city prior to having the structure built.

“She should have contacted the U.S. Post Office to get federal government requirements … and, she should have contacted [the city] before the fact. Now, she will have to have the box redesigned and apply for a permit. Or, she can appeal my decision, but I’m not going to approve [the box as it is]; it’s a safety hazard,” he said.

Appealing the city’s requirements would cost a $1,000 appeal fee, Hitti confirmed. A new structure will need a permit and appropriate inspections, he added.

“It’s the same for anyone building a structure. Everybody has to have a permit. It’s not different for [Asch], we just found out about it after she’d already built. That’s unfortunate, and it puts the burden on the owner to apply after the fact, but we can’t allow people to just build anything without concern for regulations,” Hitti said. “It’s an unfortunate situation, but it’s not like we told her it was OK first and then changed the rules. The rules are there, she just didn’t ask first.”

According to city of La Cañada Flintridge regulations, “customers are required to contact the local post office before installing a mailbox to ensure its correct placement and height at the street.

“Generally, mailboxes are installed at a height of 41-45 inches from the road surface to inside floor of the mailbox or point of mail entry … and are set back 6-8 inches from the front face of curb or road edge to the mailbox door.”

Anyone needing additional information about installing a new mailbox is encouraged to contact the city public works department.

“Mailbox installation may seem simple, but residents need to think about safety before they install a new mailbox,” according to information provided by the city.