Developer Sues Activists for Trespassing at L.A. Housing Site
A developer aiming to transform a 300-acre site in the Verdugo Mountains into a luxury housing development is suing a group of activists for trespassing onto the property. The group says it is gathering evidence that the land should be preserved to protect endangered species.
Nevada-based Whitebird plans to build 221 homes on a rugged hillside in the Sunland-Tujunga neighborhood on the northern edge of Los Angeles. The development was originally approved by the Los Angeles City Council in 2005 and has a 20-year window of completion that runs through October 2026.
Local groups have pushed back against the project during the past two decades, with concerns about bringing traffic to the rural area and the safety of building homes in the fire-prone mountains. Whitebird scaled down the original project from 900 to 300 acres, donating the remaining 600 acres to be preserved as open space.
Activists, including artists and amateur botanists, formed a group last year calling itself No Canyon Hills which claims the area’s native flora and wildlife are endangered by the project.
The group is pushing local officials to conduct an updated environmental review of the luxury housing project, which could delay construction beyond the 2026 deadline for completing the development.
On December 10, the developer filed suit against No Canyon Hills, accusing group members of sneaking onto the property and secretly installing cameras and other surveillance equipment, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Whitebird’s lawsuit claims the activists ignored posted “No Trespassing” signs and boasted about the alleged trespasses in posts on social media and in correspondence with government officials.
In addition to a public outreach campaign against the project, a petition has gathered more than 177,000 signatures, and No Canyon Hills contacted government agencies regarding its concerns about the potential impact of the project on two protected species: mountain lions and bumblebees.
In a letter sent in September to the L.A. Planning Department, an attorney representing No Canyon Hills attached multiple time-stamped photos of a puma on the development site, the report said. The group also sent photos of protected bees to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which notified the developer that its application for an incidental take permit was incomplete.
An incidental take permit is issued under the federal Endangered Species Act that allows a non-federal entity to “take” (harm, capture or kill) an endangered or threatened species unintentionally during an otherwise lawful activity like construction when avoiding the species entirely is not possible.
The original environmental impact report for the Canyon Hills development, which was finalized in 2004, found no evidence of mountain lions or protected bees.
“Certain components of the original impact report, which was conducted 20 years ago, don’t reflect the current status of the land,” No Canyon Hills co-founder Emma Kemp told the Los Angeles Times. “Our goal is to encourage city officials and state agencies to conduct an updated environmental review.”
Source: GlobeSt/ALM