Compromise Reached on ‘Great Wall’

The owner and opponents of a 3,200-foot-long wall built along a stretch of scenic road agreed late Tuesday night on a compromise that will put to rest the dispute over what has come to be known as the “Great Wall” of Anaheim Hills.

At a public hearing, the Anaheim City Council overturned a city planning commission vote and accepted the compromise.

The wall, located on Nohl Ranch Road near Meats Avenue, is being built as part of an exclusive residential community of $1-million and $2-million homes that have generated controversy on their own.

The developer had argued that the six-foot-high, sand-colored wall is needed to protect the privacy of homeowners in the tract, located north of Nohl Ranch Road, just below the wall.

But residents say the wall has blotted out sweeping vistas that many of them used to enjoy, and they demanded that it be torn down.

The Anaheim Hills Citizen’s Coalition, a homeowners group in favor of controlled growth in the area, had vowed to take legal action if the wall was not taken down or modified. Vocal objection by residents led city planning commissioners to deny the developer permission to build 7-foot, 3-inch decorative brick pilasters at 40-foot intervals along the expanse.

Developer Vic Peloquin appealed that denial, and the council on Tuesday overturned the planning commission vote and accepted the compromise.

Under the compromise, the developer has agreed to reduce the solid portion of the wall to three feet at seven openings where the brick pilasters were to have been placed. The solid portions will be topped with wrought-iron design so that pedestrians will be able to see the views at the opening. The areas will also be landscaped so that passers-by will not be able to look down into homes in the tract.