Hilltop homes of Laurel Canyon to be demolished after decades-long legal battle
Hillside homes of Laurel Canyon to be demolished
The city of Los Angeles has secured a plea agreement with the property owners, City Attorney Hydee Felstein Soto said.
LOS ANGELES - A decades-long legal battle over five partially built homes in the exclusive Laurel Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles may be nearing its end.
The Los Angeles City Attorney's office announced a plea deal with the current owners, Shahram and Ester Ghalili, which could finally lead to the demolition of the unfinished structures.
What we know:
The City Attorney's office filed 25 misdemeanor counts in 2023 against Shahram and Ester Ghalili regarding five unfinished, three-story, single-family homes.
Shahram Ghalili recently pleaded no contest to five of those counts related to violations of the LA municipal code and failure to comply with orders from the department of building and safety.
He was placed in a one-year diversion program and ordered by a superior court judge to demolish the five homes by August 7, 2026, and pay $5,000 in fines.
If he fails to comply, he will face a conviction, 12 months of summary probation, 100 hours of community service, and $25,000 in fines and penalties.
What they're saying:
"For far too many years, the Laurel Canyon community has dealt with these dangerous, dilapidated homes that were ordered to be taken down more than two decades ago," City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said in a statement. "We took action to end this problem once and for all."
The backstory:
The city previously ordered the project to be shut down in 2002 and demolished in 2003.
The Ghalilis purchased the properties in late 2020, becoming the latest in a series of developers and owners who attempted to complete the project over the past two decades.
After the Ghalilis took ownership, neighbors reported a re-start of construction activity, prompting city officials to order the new owners to comply with the long-standing demolition order.
The Source: The information in this article comes from a press release by the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, which announced the plea deal. Details of the agreement, including court orders and fines, were provided by City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, who also issued a direct statement on the matter.