Altadena : Height Limits Endorsed

Ending a two-year stalemate, the Town Council voted Tuesday to recommend that the county not change a longstanding law limiting the height of front-yard shrubs and fences to 3 1/2 feet.

In October, with 18 violations suspended pending the Town Council’s decision, the council’s land-use committee was asked to recommend more liberal height guidelines but concluded instead that the current case-by-case review is acceptable.

Councilman Gregory Norden, chairman of the committee, explained that since the 1963 law was written, the county has never searched for violations and, except for complaints from neighbors, is inclined to overlook them if they conform to the neighborhood pattern.

“When a property is reviewed, the county is inclined to allow such violations as are deemed safe, providing the immediate neighbors consent,” he said.

The council accepted the committee’s views by a 10-2 vote with one absence.