La Rue Fights City Council Over Illegal Gate

CSI: Miami actress Eva La Rue (Natalia Boa Vista) is facing legal troubles over a fence she constructed in front of her Glendale, California house in 2007.

The fence was built without the appropriate permits, and the actress was cited by city code enforcement officials because the fence was too close to the public right-of-way. However, La Rue was granted a variance from a zoning administrator for the gate—an action which has caused discontent among neighbors and homeowner’s groups. The variance was overturned by the Planning Commission, but La Rue and her attorney appealed the ruling. The case has gone to the City Council, where it has been mired in debate.

La Rue built the fence to protect herself and her daughter Kaya from an alleged stalker. “I am asking please, please to keep my gate,” she told the City Council last week. “I’m a single mom. I know that this gate can’t really protect me from somebody that wants to do me and my 8-year-old harm, but at least it is some sort of barrier.”

The case will continue on February 9, when the city attorney’s office will address the concerns of Councilman Ara Najarian. Najarian has been a vocal supporter of the actress, and he described the case as an example of the “clear injustice” that takes place in Glendale regarding the appeals process itself. He argued that the Planning Commission did not have the authority to overturn the variance, and he also said the commission heard the case on a “de novo” basis—which means they heard the entire case rather than just the issue that brought the appeal.

City Council appeals require a “de novo” hearing by law, but the municipal code does not specify the need for one, Najarian explained. “Our laws are our laws, and we need to follow them,” he said. “If we’ve been doing the wrong thing, we need to admit we were doing the wrong thing and correct it.”