Kite Hill
Kite Hill is a one acre parcel within the Santa Monica Mountain range that sits just north of the historic Baxter stairs. They say it was called Kite Hill because the height created a perfect opportunity for, yes, flying a kite. This land is one of the oldest natural habitats in our city, home to trees and vegetation such as black walnuts, Mexican Elderberry and Toyon which are protected by city of Los Angeles.
Since the 1940s it has provided an active recreational trail that runs alongside the historic Lautner Salkin house on Avon Terrace and connects to Elysian Park, which supports extensive native fauna including bobcats and birds of prey.
But Kite Hill is currently under threat of development.
The parcel was acquired at a tax auction in 2007, after previous developers met with community resistance and gave up on their plans for a condo project. Why? The parcel is landlocked, with no vehicle access. This means a new roadway must be built from Avon Terrace, a very steep substandard dead-end street, before any construction begins on the project itself, an oversized private compound. The current plan would slice through this urban wildlife corridor with a raised roadway that curves around the historic Lautner home, 125 feet long and climbing up to 40 feet above grade, somewhat like a freeway off ramp. The city has yet to approve this invasive roadway and the project is pending environmental review. In the meantime, the owner has put a fence around the property, blocking the community from the trails they’ve walked for decades. The proposed project and its associated impacts would degrade the wildlife habitat of Elysian Park and imperil the tenuous diversity of the Elysian Valley ecosystem.
Adjacent property owners have already pledged to donate their portion of the trail to the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy. Our goal is to raise funds for the Conservancy to purchase Kite Hill as an 'Open Space Preserve' to ensure it remains a vital native habitat, open to the public for generations to come.
Please join us in this mission by showing your support! And don’t hesitate to reach out with questions.