Council Opposes Sidewalk Ordinance

The City of Los Angeles has historically paid to repair residential sidewalks, curbs and driveways as a result of tree-root damage by trees on public parkways. However, in the midst of the budget crisis, city officials have proposed transferring that responsibility to property owners.   In response, the Pacific Palisades Community Council unanimously voted on June 24 to oppose such action and has sent letters to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and City Councilman Bill Rosendahl.   If the City Council moves forward with its plans, Community Council member Jack Allen wrote in a letter that ‘not only do homeowners who have sidewalks and/or driveways damaged by tree roots from city trees face having to pay as much as $5,000 to repair their sidewalks, but they also face increased rates on their homeowners insurance.’   Allen told the Palisadian-Post that community councils and neighborhood councils around the city have passed or are considering a similar motion of opposition.   The City Council’s Budget and Finance and Public Works committees approved the proposal on April 19. The City Attorney’s Office is now working to change the language of the 1974 ordinance, which calls for the city to make the repairs in cases only related to tree-root damage. The City Council will then vote on the amended ordinance.   ’We have already sent the signal out to the public that we are out of the sidewalk business,’ said Erik Sanjurjo, director of policy for City Councilman Jose Huizar. ‘We can’t afford it; we can’t continue to pay for something that state law says is the property owners’ responsibility.’   The California Streets and Highways Code requires homeowners to assume responsibility of the sidewalks and parkways in front of their property. In addition, developers, not the city, planted the majority of offending trees, according to Sanjurjo.   Under the 1974 ordinance, the city has spent millions on sidewalk repair, and according to Sanjurjo, it has never been enough. Of the 10,750 miles of sidewalk citywide, an estimated 4,600 miles are in need of repairs at a projected cost of $1.2 billion.   The city also pays more than $3 million annually in claims for sidewalk-related injuries. Sanjurjo said that it is likely the homeowner and city will share in the liability as a result of the amended ordinance.   Allen, a retired Beverly Hills city attorney, argues that this will create undue stress on homeowners. He wants the city to reach out to community councils and neighborhood councils before moving forward.   ’Homeowners cannot raise their rents as commercial and apartment property owners do to offset the costs of repairs and replacement,’ Allen wrote. ‘Moreover, as it is now being proposed by the City Council, homeowners who have street trees next to sidewalks are being asked unjustly and unfairly to assume a burden that should be shared by all who have the benefit of using public sidewalks.   ’There are many streets that either have no sidewalks or only one sidewalk,’ Allen continued. ‘Thus, homeowners who live on those streets that have no sidewalks but who still have the benefit of all the sidewalks should have to pay their fair share of the costs of maintaining those sidewalks [in their neighborhood].’