June Newsbites

In This Issue—

* Protected Trees
* "Party Houses"
* I-405 Sepulveda Pavement Project
* Architectural Review
* Some Dates for RRES
* BAHA Website
* Fire Care

***Protected Trees in City of Los Angeles***  The City of Los Angeles has released a new photographic guide to protect trees and shrubs. Per Ordinance No. 186,873, a permit is required for removal or relocation of a protected tree or shrub, or for potentially destructive activities that may result in death of a protected tree or shrub. This guide should be helpful in determining which trees and shrubs are subject to permit requirements. Here is the link to the guide:  https://streetsla.lacity.org/sites/default/files/Los%20Angeles%20Protected%20Trees%20Photo%20Guide%202024%20Sept.pdf

***"Party Houses"***  During BAHA’s Annual Members’ Meeting on May 6, 2025, several residents noted their concerns about the noise coming from the property at 11531 Orum Road that appears to be operating as a “party house”.  This house has several listings on internet sites, such as booking.com and VRBO, that advertise its rental use for parties and special events.  

While this property is not in BAHA’s jurisdiction (it is part of the Bel Air Association), it affects residents living on parts of Roscomare Road. Therefore, BAHA is working with Bel Air Association to try and solve this problem.  

The City of LA has strict provisions regarding the operation of “party houses” (for example, see Los Angeles Municipal Code, Section 116.1, specifically dealing with excessive noise). We encourage all residents to notify the LAPD should you be experiencing loud music/noises, or excessive traffic from these “party houses”. To report a “party house” problem, please call the LAPD non-emergency number at 877-275-5273 or 877-ASK-LAPD.

If you do report a “party house” incident to the LAPD, please also advise BAHA at [email protected], or telephone at 310-476-0322, and provide the number of the incident report. The greater number of residents who report these incidents, increases the chance of stopping “commercial” use of neighborhood homes improves.

***I-405 Sepulveda Pass Pavement Rehab Project***  Last month’s Newsbites provided a brief description of the upcoming project. Caltrans is planning to present a virtual public, informational meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 10 about the Project. The link to register is: https://cadot.webex.com/weblink/register/r4772c6e9599488cd8d399750275bc555  

To sign up for future notifications about the project use this link:
https://forms.office.com/g/0RU7MzXNDK

***Architectural Review Committee Requirements***  Just a reminder that if you are planning an addition, remodel or new construction to your house or property, the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&R’s) for your Tract require you to submit your building plans to the Architectural Review Committee (ARC) before beginning construction. You might also want to submit your plans to the ARC prior to submitting them to Building and Safety since setbacks, for example, in the CC&R’s can be more restrictive than in the building codes.

For more information on submitting plans to the ARC please, visit our website at: https://www.baha.la/land-use.php, or email the ARC at [email protected], or telephone at 310-476-0322.

***Some Dates for Roscomare Road Elementary School***  The last day of school is June 10th and the first day of the new school year is planned for August 14th. The first week of the new school year always presents traffic issues and we will have more on that matter in the July issue.

***BAHA Website***  BAHA’s website, Bel Air Hills Association, contains much useful information for our community and we encourage you to view it periodically. For example, here is something of interest from BAHA’s Traffic Committee:
 

Roscomare is designated as a Collector Street by the City of LA. This means that its purpose it to collect traffic from the streets that feed into it, and direct them to Arterial Streets such as Mulholland and Sunset. A street with a Collector Street designation is not intended for “cut through” traffic.

BAHA discovered that Roscomare Road was incorrectly identified on California Department of Transportation official maps as an Arterial street, and worked with LADOT to get that designation corrected. BAHA is now working to get the City of LA to change Roscomare Road’s designation changed to a Local street, which will help with speed enforcement and may help with traffic volume. This will be a multi-year project.

***Fire Care***  We are coming into the hot, dry, fire season. While we live in a beautiful area, it is also an area that has been designated as a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.  After observing the wildfires earlier this year, we are all motivated to be extra careful.

Please check your hillsides to see if they need brush clearance. Although LAFD does brush clearance compliance checks in May, compliance is a year-round requirement which helps to increase the chances that you, your neighbors and your homes survive a fire. 

Also, please be careful to observe the “No Smoking” signs at both entrances to Roscomare Road and ask visitors and construction crews coming into the area to please cooperate with that mandate as well.