"The first five homes in the project were under construction when, in 2002, the L.A. Planning Commission placed a six-month moratorium on the project pending an environmental impact assessment to be drafted by the property developers. The impact assessment did not happen, the city attorney alleged in a 2021 statement, and the city ordered the homes demolished in 2003, according to news reports at the time."
"For more than two decades after the city issued its standing order, a series of buyers scooped up the properties and attempted to restart the project without first tearing the existing structures down, the statement said. After the properties were purchased by developers Shahram and Ester Ghalili in 2020, neighbors alleged that construction at the homes had begun again. Then-City Attorney Mike Feuer brought 35 criminal charges against the couple in 2021 after investigating the site."
Five unfinished three-story, 5,000-square-foot single-family homes on N. Woodstock Road in Laurel Canyon are slated for demolition under a plea agreement. The homes were part of a planned 21-home development with permits issued in 1998 and 1999. A 2002 L.A. Planning Commission moratorium required an environmental impact assessment that was never completed, and the city ordered demolition in 2003. Multiple buyers acquired the properties and attempted project restarts without demolishing the existing structures. Developers Shahram and Ester Ghalili purchased the properties in 2020, faced criminal charges in 2021, and pleaded guilty to failing to comply with city orders.
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