BEL AIR—On Thursday, June 7, four neighboring residents of Mohamed Hadid’s unfinished mega mansion at 901 Strada Vecchia Road filed a lawsuit against the celebrity developer. Hadid began working on his Bel Air mansion back in 2011 which is still under construction. The construction has triggered several landslides and mudslides which have threatened neighboring homes.

According to a press release Canyon News received from Rachel Wilson from Sugerman Communications Group, Hadid failed to comply with several safety building codes while building his mansion. The mansion’s floor area is 30,000 square feet, but the maximum permitted square feet is 11,300 and has a height of 70 feet, where the maximum height is 30 feet tall. Hadid also hid areas of work done at the property from Los Angeles city inspectors including underground rooms and a giant IMAX theater. From 2011 and 2015, the city issued 11 “Order to Comply” citations that required an immediate halt to construction.

Hadid previously faced criminal charges for his illegal construction work in 2015. He pleaded no contest to three criminal counts and was sentenced to 200 hours of community service, probation and fines, but not the deconstruction of the home. Residents are fighting to have the mansion torn down.

“Despite the criminal conviction, terms of his probation, and lack of valid permits, Hadid and his agents and/or employees have continued efforts to construct and complete the Hadid Development, without regard for Plaintiffs’ safety,” the lawsuit states.

Victor De la Cruz,  the lead attorney for the plaintiffs filing the lawsuit against Hadid stated:

“After seven years of this painful saga, this community is fed up. Mohamed Hadid has made a mockery of the City’s laws and the safety of his neighbors, and astonishingly the City of Los Angeles has turned a blind eye. But no one is above the law, and it’s time for this hazardous and illegal eyesore to come down once and for all. These are not merely technical violations. They are as enormous as the illegal structure itself. At this stage, the only way to bring this illegal mansion into compliance is to tear it down and start over.”

In February 2018, a request to the City Attorney’s office was made to tear down the illegal development of the home. In April 2018, Hadid submitted an application noting a reduction to the size of the mansion.

A new website, www.TearItDown.net. has been created for residents of Bel Air to sign in order to ask Los Angeles City Officials to demand a stop to the construction of Hadid’s mansion, which has been nicknamed the “Starship Enterprise.”

Written By Nina Garza and Donald Roberts