LA city attorney secures plea deal over illegal Laurel Canyon homes — and it ends in demolition

A decades-long legal battle over five partially built hilltop homes in the exclusive Laurel Canyon area could be nearing resolution with a plea deal announced Monday by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office. According to City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, the city filed 25 misdemeanor counts in 2023 against Shahram and Ester Ghalili over the five unfinished, three-story, single-family homes. Last week, Shahram Ghalili pleaded no contest to five counts related to violations of the L.A. Municipal Code and failure to comply with orders issued by the Department of Building and Safety, Feldstein Soto said. Ghalili was placed into a...