Fox News A Tale of Two Fences

When a Los Angeles homeowner built a security wall around his home to protect his family, the city threatened him with fines. The mayor planned something similar at the Getty House about 2.5 miles away... and it was a different story.
FOX 11's John Schwada has the tale of two fences in this video report.
Story Script:
Walter Garcia, Homeowner: "I built a fence to protect my family."
East Hollywood resident Walter Garcia has gangs, the homeless, and a half-way house as neighbors. Burglarized twice, Garcia built a six-foot fence around his front yard.
Ruby Garcia, Daughter: "With this fence, I feel very safe."
Los Angeles City Hall said the fence is illegal and that Garcia needed a special permit... a variance...for any fence higher than 3-and-a-half feet.
The problem? It costs almost $4,800 just to apply for that variance.
Stephen Box, Community Activist: "The problem is that a lower income community fighting to protect homes can't afford that variance."
Community activist Stephen Box tells us city officials have threatened dozens of East Hollywood homeowners with fines if they don't tear down their illegal fences, and some took them down to get the city off their backs.
Stephen Box, Community Activist: "The family that lives here had a fence around their house. All that's left are these posts. And how do you feel? We feel less protected. There are a lot of gangs around here. We really don't feel safe."
And now get this... a variance was obtained Thursday for a six foot security fence at Mayor Villaraigosa's official city-owned residence in Hancock Park. The fee... paid by the city and the mayor's own staff facilitating the deal.
Maybe getting a variance is a slam-dunk for the mayor, but for the average joe in East Hollywood, it's a costly nightmare. We asked the mayor's chief of staff about it.
Jeff Carr, Villaraigosa's Chief of Staff: "In terms of the the fees Building and Safety is charging in terms of variances for a fence... I think you need to talk to them about that."
Walter Garcia's daughter sees her father being hassled to tear down his fence or get a variance and has this to say...
Ruby Garcia, Daughter: "It wouldn't be fair that the mayor has a fence and we can't keep our fence. That's not fair."

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Thanks for watching and thanks to John Schwada and the Fox News team for bringing us this important news story.

Category:

News & Politics

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• Fox News
• Los Angeles
• John Schwada
• Walter Garcia
• Mayor Villaraigosa
• Ruby Garcia
• Jeff Carr
• Stephen Box
• Fence
• Permit
• Variance
• ACE Program