Residents Say Trees Along Small Stretch Near Westwood Have Become A Danger

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Those living along a small stretch of Devon Avenue say the trees in the area just south of Westwood have become a danger to residents.

"A tree fell and there were some branches that got onto my car," said Ron Cooper, a resident.

Another resident, Rebecca Gonzalez, said: "The trees here seem to be rotting or dying. There's quite a few of them, and it's a problem."

The trees at issue are carob trees, as KCAL9's Kaj Goldberg reports.

Back in November, Goldberg says, a large branch totaled a BMW. Then early Tuesday, a barrel-size limb toppled onto Chris Schwarz-Lohr's Toyota Prius.

"The cab, the car is intact but I could've moved forward. The tree branch could have fallen, and that would have crushed me," he said.

Schwarz-Lohr and other neighbors on the block say that they've complained to the city to no avail.

"Who's gonna take responsibility for my car being totaled? Nobody can give me any indication of what to expect. I talked to the City Clerk's Office," he said.

Video shot by Schwarz-Lohr shows a city worker appearing Wednesday morning to remove the tree from his vehicle. They said they would return Thursday to remove the tree.

But, he says, it made the situation worse.

"The giant log, which was about this big in diameter, rolled down my car and the thing, it just, it did I think even more damage," he said.

Schwarz-Lohr and other neighbors say they've placed numerous calls to the L.A. City Services and the Office of the City Clerk to request the removal of the trees and to be compensated for damage.

But, they say, they've had no luck yet.

Until then, Schwarz-Lohr and others say they'll take their daily walks with caution and won't park beneath the trees.