Encroaching development is probably the biggest concern of residents today. Hundreds of acres within Bel-Air remain untouched, mostly because access is difficult and residents have fought against new roads.
Residents are eyeing with concern a proposal by developer Paul Zahler to construct four estates on lower Linda Flora Drive next year on one of last remaining undeveloped hilltops in the area.
It isn't Zahler's plan to build four homes over 10,000 square feet that bothers residents--Bel-Air is a place that understands private property rights. They are insisting, however, that the new subdivision be gated, so it doesn't create a new thoroughfare that commuters could use between the city and the San Fernando Valley.
"I moved here because of the views and the hills, it's a beautiful area," character actor Don Gordon said. "But those views and those hills are slowly being destroyed. What's happened here and throughout the city has been a disaster. In the future, people won't even believe us when we tell them how beautiful it once was."
Most residents believe that in terms of natural beauty, the community of Bel-Air still has no peer in Los Angeles. Neighbors Wilt Chamberlain and Farah Fawcett can still enjoy spectacular views of the city and canyons below from their homes off Antelo Road, while upper and lower Stone Canyon Reservoir offers hillside residents the feel of lakeside living.
Epilogue: Up on the ridge of Mulholland, the illusion of residing in Bel-Air turned out to be short lived.
Mail carriers were told a few years ago that they should no longer deliver 90077 mail on the north side of Mulholland. The new mailing address for Stoneridge Estates is Sherman Oaks, Ca. 91423.
