OPINION

By KEITH TURNER Special to the Palisadian-Post Pacific Palisades is a special place, tucked between the ocean and mountains, where many homeowners enjoy sweeping views of Santa Monica Bay, the shoreline, canyons and dramatic, undeveloped mountain landscapes. But in every neighborhood in the Palisades, homeowners’ view rights are under attack by a nearby construction or remodeling project that increases the ‘footprint’ of the existing home. Homeowners in almost every neighborhood have had to go to court during the past five years to enforce or protect their view rights. During the past year, the Los Angeles Superior Court has issued preliminary injunctions that stopped construction of two separate Palisades projects because the proposed construction would have infringed or obstructed another property owner’s view rights. A halted construction project is an expense that no developer or homeowner wants to bear. The litigation process is often avoided by most homeowners because of its cost to the homeowner and the unpredictability of the result to the entire community. The reality is that it costs at least $50,000 to $100,000 in attorneys’ fees and related litigation expenses to take a case to trial. (In 1985, California enacted a comprehensive law for homeowners associations, the Davis Striling Act. That law provides for the recovery of attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party. Thus, a homeowner can more likely afford the risk of litigation with the hope of recovering the attorneys’ fees they incur in enforcing their view rights. Because most of the CC&Rs in Pacific Palisades were recorded before 1985, it is not clear whether they are subject to Davis Striling Act.) Both sides of a view rights dispute and the overall community suffer from the unpredictability factor. For instance, in 2005 the Court of Appeal in the Zabrucky v. McAdams case added the word ‘unreasonably’ to the Marquez Knolls’ CC&Rs, which originally provided in relevant part: ‘No’structures erected’may at present or in the future obstruct the view from any other lot….’ Thus, CC&Rs now read: no structure ‘may at present or in the future unreasonably obstruct the view from any other lot.” (The Marquez Knolls CC&Rs also limit residences built on lots within the subdivision to one-story, single-family dwelling.) The other Palisades neighborhoods’ CC&Rs are probably subject to the same judicial rewriting as what happened to the Marquez Knolls CC&Rs. On first blush, adding the word ‘unreasonably’ seems to be a reasonable compromise between the competing rights: a property owner’s right to freely develop and use his or her property; and the protection of a neighbor’s view rights. But the practical effect it has created is great uncertainty in terms of both what construction or remodeling is permissible and what is relevant to resolve a view dispute in court. Instead of simply looking at whether the existing project expands the original ‘footprint’ and obstructs the view, now parties try to make almost everything relevant to prove whether a project ‘unreasonably obstructs the view’ or not. Every aspect of a complaining homeowner’s personal life has now become fodder in a view rights dispute. Instead of a one- or two-day trial about how the intended project differs from the original project, cases have become a five- to ten-day court trial on all sorts of personal issues that seemingly have nothing to do with how the new project obstructs the view. Often, homeowners faced with a construction or remodeling project that will obstruct or infringe on their view will first try to resolve the issue with the developer or their local homeowners’ associations. The view rights battle is often between a ‘spec’ home builder who is trying to maximize house size–and profits–against long-time residents. Because some of the major Palisades homeowners’ associations have been sued for involving themselves in such disputes, they may be reluctant to get between the parties. Once the actual construction has started, it is generally more expensive for both sides in terms of legal fees to resolve the matter. Also, it can be very stressful for a family when a neighboring project infringes on their enjoyment or use of their property. Thus, homeowners are often very frustrated and feel powerless in these situations. Many attorneys involved in these disputes have been advising both sides to seek a negotiated settlement before resorting to expensive litigation. But the stakes are high for the defendant because a court could order a project that it deems to be in violation of a protected view right to be demolished or modified. Over 95 percent of lawsuits end in settlement, and the money spent on litigation generally does not sufficiently advance either side’s position. The Zabrucky v. McAdams appeal case was retried last year in Santa Monica Superior Court, and the judge found that the construction project at issue did not ‘unreasonably obstruct’ the plaintiffs’ view because only 10 percent of the overall view was obstructed. On appeal, the homeowners, Mr. and Mrs. Zabrucky, are arguing that the phrase ‘unreasonably obstruct’ needs an objective definition because of the uncertainly and litigation cost that phrase has caused. Seventeen other Marquez Knolls residents have filed their own ‘amicus’ brief, arguing that ‘unreasonably’ should not apply to expansions of existing houses, and the Marquez Knolls Property Owners Association has joined with that brief. The Court of Appeal in downtown Los Angeles is scheduled to hear arguments on that issue at 9 a.m. on March 7. Thus, the time is now for Palisadians with opinions on either side of the issue to act. Property owners need a measure of certainty to know that their recorded rights are going to be interpreted and enforced consistent with the community’s aesthetic values. Palisadians on either side of the issue need to make their views known, including to their neighborhood associations. Individual homeowners and their associations can also make their views known to the courts through ‘amicus’ participation in pending cases and appeals. In any event, the upcoming Court of Appeal hearing and decision in the Zabrucky v. McAdams case may very well decide the future of view protection rights in Palisades. (Keith Turner (ktuner@turnerliu.com) is a Pacific Palisades resident and real estate litigation and title attorney. He is also a founding partner in the ‘Pacific View Rights Center’ (http://pacificviewcenter.com) with fellow Palisadian and attorney Don Erik Franzen, who is lead counsel in the pending Zabrucky v. McAdams case. The View Rights Center provides mediation, arbitration and litigation services for view rights-related disputes.)

By FRANCES SHARPE Special to the Palisadian-Post With the Mr. and Miss Palisades Teen contest coming up March 5, we decided to check in with some of the past winners to find out about their latest achievements. LAURIE KRANTZ (1979) This Palisades High graduate has been living in Colorado for the past five years. Laurie, 47, came back home to Pacific Palisades about two years ago to take care of her ailing mother. During this time, she realized how much she missed living here. When her mother passed away, Laurie made the decision to move back to the Palisades permanently with her 8-year-old daughter. A colon hydrotherapist and a former massage therapist, Laurie plans to set up a practice in the Palisades when she makes the move this fall. GABE FUAD ‘GABE’ SAGLIE (1990) Gabe, 35, earned a B.A. in English from UCLA in 1994 and a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from USC in 1997. Now, he’s putting his education to use in Santa Barbara, where he is a senior editor and company spokesperson for Travelzoo, a travel media company based in New York. Gabe also produces a food and wine radio show called ‘The Grapevine’ and is the editor of ‘Wine & Dine Santa Barbara,’ a quarterly that can be seen at www.wineanddinesb.com. Gabe and his wife Renee have a two-year-old son, Gabriel Harrison, and are expecting another son in late March. RONI FELDMAN (1997) Roni, 27, admits that he was very shy back in high school and that it was out of character for him to enter the Mr. Palisades contest. Winning the event improved the self-confidence of the artist who displayed his paintings for the talent portion of the competition. Roni has since earned a degree from UC Santa Barbara’s College of Creative Studies in 2002 and is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree at Claremont Graduate University. Roni’s artwork has been featured in exhibits nationwide, and upcoming shows are scheduled in Australia and Europe. A major solo exhibit is set for May 1-30 at Toomey-Tourell Fine Art in San Francisco. His artwork (which can be viewed at www.ronifeldmanfineart.com) is also on exhibit through March 15 at See Line Gallery in Santa Monica. COLIN MAXWELL (1998) After earning a BFA degree from New York University in 2004, Colin started working as a dancer in New York City. The 25-year-old currently lives in Harlem and is preparing for a city-wide dance competition. He credits the Mr. Palisades contest for giving him the confidence he needs to be a performer. RACHEL MIZRAHI (1999) During the Miss Palisades contest, Rachel told the audience that she had always wanted to be a teacher. Now, the 24-year-old is living out that dream as a fourth-grade teacher at Topanga Elementary. Her path to teaching began with an undergraduate degree from UC Irvine and followed with a master’s degree from USC. Rachel currently lives in Santa Monica. LIZ BURGHDORF (2001) Liz, 22, showed off her singing chops in the talent portion of the Miss Palisades contest. Lately, she’s been honing her comedic acting chops. After attending Santa Monica College for a few years, Liz was accepted to The Groundlings, the renowned improv school that has turned out dozens of famous comedic actors, including Will Ferrell, Jon Lovitz and Lisa Kudrow. Still a Palisades resident, she is currently auditioning for roles and has appeared as the lead in a short film and in a showcase for her acting class. GILLI MESSER (2004) A sophomore at Barnard College in New York, Gilli, 19, is majoring in anthropology with a minor in French. She loves living in New York, where she participates in college theater productions and auditions for professional acting roles. Last summer, Gilli traveled to Africa with a group of students from Columbia University to make a documentary about using activities like song and dance to help teach African orphans how to protect themselves from AIDS. GENNA ROCHLIN (2006) Currently senior class president at Palisades High, Genna tap-danced her way to the title of Miss Palisades. Last fall, she played singles on the girls tennis team and helped her team win their third consecutive city championship. Genna has been actively involved with the American Red Cross and is currently president of PaliHi’s Red Cross Club. She plans to attend a four-year university. (Frances Sharpe is a professional writer, magazine editor and ghostwriter. She became involved with the Mr. and Miss Palisades Contest when her husband, Wil Sharpe, served as a judge a few years ago. She enjoyed the event so much she began working with the committee on an informal basis and has now joined the committee.) LUIS SAGLIE (1991) A PaliHi grad, Luis, 33, attended UCLA where he studied piano and composition and also became involved with musical projects as a conductor. In 1996, he moved to Vienna, Austria, where he studied opera and orchestral conducting at the University of Music and conducting and composition at the Vienna Conservatory. In the field of musical composition, Luis holds a conservatory diploma, a B.A. and an M.A. His compositions’commissioned by instrumentalists, chamber ensembles, universities and artistic centers’have been performed in Europe, Chile and the U.S. In 2006, he conducted the Vienna premiere of his first opera, El d’a de la liberaci’n, and he is currently working on his second opera. In March, he is moving back to California, where he plans to break into the world of film music as a composer and conductor. Visit: www.luissaglie.com. RAMIS SADRIEH (1993) As vice president of the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce, Ramis has become a familiar face around town. His Technology For You! business (technologyforyou.com), which offers one-stop solutions for home and office technology, won the Chamber’s Best New Business Award in 2005. Ramis, 32, also organized the town’s first Technology Fair last spring and is treasurer of PAPA, the Fourth of July parade organizing committee. Ramis, who earned a degree in math and computer science from UCLA and an MBA from Pepperdine, is married to Sara Boroomi. They are expecting their first child in March. CHRISTIAN SAGLIE (1996) After graduating from PaliHi in 1997, Christian earned a BFA in musical theater from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he directed and acted in several stage productions. Christian, 28, also attended law school in San Diego before moving back to Los Angeles, where he worked at top talent agencies and management companies in the entertainment industry. These days, Christian is focusing on a career in music. In 2007, he created Broadsound Studios (www.BroadsoundStudios.com), a company that creates original music for film, television, radio and the Internet. Christian is also the assistant to a well-established composer in West Los Angeles. He remains active in the local community and has hosted the Mr. and Miss Palisades contest two times. NOAH KARP 1999 At 25, Noah is a graduate of Cal State University Long Beach with a degree in creative writing. Noah, who worked as a copy editor at the Long Beach Union, is currently taking a poetry class at UCLA. A true Renaissance man, Noah has a wide range of interests, including Zen philosophy. He performs ‘poi,’ a form of fire twirling, and works as a personal trainer at Spectrum in the Palisades. SEAN FRIAR (2001) For the talent portion of the teen contest, Sean played an original composition on the piano. Today, composition is still the main thrust of his studies. In 2007, Sean, 22, earned degrees in music and psychology from UCLA. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in music composition at Princeton University as part of a four-year Roger Sessions Fellowship. In June, he won a prestigious Morton Gould Young Composer Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. In addition to composing, Sean continues to perform as a piano soloist and has sung in choirs at UCLA and Princeton. TOMMY SOBEL (2002) In 2007, Tommy, 22, earned a degree in biology with an emphasis in neuroscience from Duke University. For the past two and a half years, he has been working on a research project at the UCLA Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center. His work will appear as a chapter in an upcoming academic book. Tommy, who made a film for his Mr. Palisades talent, also works as a production assistant at Kennedy/Marshall Company, a film production firm in Santa Monica. His most exciting career moment so far has been working as the personal assistant to the executive producer on the set of the upcoming Indiana Jones movie. ANNE MARIE BARRETTE (2003) A senior at Stanford University, Anne Marie, 22, is majoring in biology. For the past two years, she has also been working for a biotech company in Palo Alto and doing research in a multiple sclerosis lab on campus. Anne Marie finds the work very exciting because it uses cutting-edge technology that very few people have access to. She plans to apply to medical and graduate schools and hopes to pursue a career in medical research studying rheumatoid arthritis. When she isn’t working or studying, she plays intramural volleyball and plays the piano. She also loves cooking and is starting a food blog. RILEY KARP (2004) After one year at USC as a music major, Riley, 20, switched to Santa Monica College. Now, he is planning to transfer to a UC campus in the fall. Even though he wants to change his major to earth sciences, Riley still finds time for music. He plays jazz and classical piano and has performed for private parties and has been hired as a studio musician. When he isn’t studying or performing, he works part-time at Santa Monica Music Center. JAY SOBEL (2005) At 19, Jay is a sophomore at UCLA where he lives on campus. Jay, who made a film for the Mr. Palisades contest, began his college career as an economics major but is thinking about switching his major to film. He has been very active in starting a new fraternity that is due to open this semester. For the past few years, he has also been working as a camp counselor at St. Matthew’s summer day camp.

It was rainy and windy early Monday morning when Pacific Palisades Mobil Station attendant Kazi Uddin took $10 for gas from Carlos Gutierrez, who was driving a red Honda Prelude. Then the night got stormier. Uddin was unaware that a second man had crawled out of the Prelude and was screaming for help. Other customers at the station dialed 911, around 2 a.m., and within minutes police were on the scene. ‘They closed the station down,’ Uddin told the Palisadian-Post. ‘They told me to stay inside.’ It was only later that he discovered that Yolanda Martinez, 37, had been found dead in Gutierrez’s car. ‘How she died and how it happened, it’s very shocking,’ Uddin said. According to an L.A. Times report, Gutierrez, 25, Martinez and Gutierrez’s uncle, 38, were at a Silver Lake night club. At some point the three left the club, after both men had been drinking heavily. Gutierrez started driving west and at some point got angry with Martinez and his uncle. Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore told the Post Wednesday that it was unclear whether Gutierrez had told them to get out of the car or whether they had elected to do that on their own. Once they were out and walking, Gutierrez plowed into them with the car, fatally injuring Martinez and breaking his uncle’s legs. The exact location of the crime is unclear. The uncle was taken to Santa Monica Hospital and Gutierrez was taken into custody. ‘Nobody can figure out where this happened,’ Moore said. ‘Even the suspect and uncle can’t figure out where it was.’ According to Moore, Gutierrez was taken back along the route, which was mostly along Sunset Boulevard, but couldn’t remember where it had happened. ‘It could have been Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, there’s no way to tell where it happened,’ Moore said. The Mobil station re-opened about 9 a.m. Monday morning, once the Los Angeles Coroner had transported the body. Police towed the car, which is considered evidence. According to Moore, Gutierrez was booked on murder charges, because it appears the act was deliberate. The homicide remains under investigation.

Since video enforcement at two stop signs in Temescal Gateway Park began five months ago, drivers have received 2,283 citations at $100 each, representing $228,000 in gross revenue. Eighty percent of the money collected goes to the Mountains Conservatory Recreation Area (MCRA) and 20 percent goes to Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., an Australian-based company that owns and operates the cameras. After receiving four $100 tickets for allegedly failing to stop at the stop sign just below the YMCA pool in November, businessman Gary Solomon was puzzled. He was sure he had stopped. He always does on the way to dropping his child off at a preschool in the canyon, and he hasn’t had a moving violation since he was 18. After talking to other preschool parents at the Palisades Jewish Early Childhood Center and Little Dolphins, he realized that he wasn’t alone. ‘How could so many good people be scofflaws?’ Solomon wondered during an interview. ‘They’re just taking their children to preschool or the YMCA pool.’ The problem began in late September, when the camera was installed at the stop sign along the canyon road about a quarter of a mile above Sunset. At that location a motorist either goes straight or turns right and goes uphill to the pool. The posted speed limit is 15 mph, but with two speed humps before the stop sign, it’s hard to accelerate much above the posted speed. In addition, turning left at the stop sign takes the driver immediately over yet a third. unmarked speed hump. Two weeks ago, Solomon took a friend, who is also an engineer, to the stop sign to observe and possibly figure out how he got his four tickets. The two watched cars for about an hour and then noticed something of interest. If a car stops two feet before the white line, the wheels do not hit the sensor in the road. The markings of where the sensor is located is easily seen. This means a car can come to a complete stop without starting the sensor. When the car starts again, rolling over the sensor, the camera begins rolling as if the car had never stopped. ‘It seems to me that this is a total scam,’ Solomon said. MCRA Chief Ranger Walt Young disagrees with his assessment. Although the magnetic sensors in the road start the sequence, ‘The camera records on a loop, so the entire sequence should be on the video,’ he said. ‘It should show them stopping and then there should be no citation given.’ Young pointed out that a ranger observes all of the video and that it is the ranger that issues the citations, not the camera. ‘The Conservancy doesn’t follow the DMV regulations,’ Palisadian and retired Beverly Hills city attorney Jack Allen told the Post on Tuesday. ‘The stop limit line isn’t where it should be.’ Allen also noted that the state vehicle code does not authorize using automated traffic enforcement at stop signs. Solomon paid his $400 in fines, but is contesting all four tickets. He has asked for a hearing, he still has not been assigned a date. The Conservancy’s Diana Hartman told the Post that once the mail-in coupon requesting a hearing and the payment has been received, a hearing is scheduled within 60 days. Residents, who have received a photo enforcement citation are directed to a Web site, where they can watch the tape of the infraction. The Post was able to obtain a citation and watched the video of a car going through the stop sign. There was a certain amount of jerkiness, but Young explained that this was a function of the Internet download speed. The camera records in real time and is television quality, he said. In a July 12 Los Angeles Times story, after the first camera had been installed at the exit to the parking lot in Temescal in June, Joe Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, said: ‘I’m more worried about a law suit from somebody whose child is killed. We’d be sued for millions for not controlling the interface between visitors and cars.’ Allen took the MCRA to task for failing to have a traffic engineering analysis done to see if there were safety issues and if, in fact, there been serious traffic accidents in Temescal park. A study was not done before either camera was installed. Allen is recommending that the Pacific Palisades Community Council ask Senator Sheila Kuehl or Assembly member Julia Brownley to ask the attorney general for an opinion as to the legality of the stop-sign camera and the procedures the Conservancy is using to enforce it.