OPINION/COMMENTARY

Santa Monica’s Social Engineers Target Homeowners

Santa Monica, California, is at it again. The city council recently voted to continue the 42-inch height limit on hedges and fences in residential front yards. The regulations for the back and sides are subject to a more-relaxed eight-foot limit. The purpose of these landscaping regulations, according to Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McKeown is “to maintain the feel of the community.” He described his experience passing houses with tall hedges and fences as “driving by a series of compounds.” Apparently, his preferred experience is more important than property rights.

Critics of the ordinance maintain that it intrudes on their property rights and violates the California Constitution. Many homeowners also say that high hedges and fences provide privacy and safety from potentially dangerous or bizarre outsiders.

The city council and some citizens reply that Santa Monica will lose its open, friendly, and neighborly environment because the hedges and fences separate the homes so severely.

It is this regulation that can be characterized as unfriendly—to property owners....