A developer wants to build single-family houses on the last property where oranges were grown for sale within Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, once home to a substantial part of California’s citrus industry.
Borstein Enterprises plans 21 two-story homes in the Tarzana neighborhood on nine acres it acquired two years ago from the Bothwell family that had owned the land since 1926. At that time, more than 92,000 acres were cultivated for citrus in Los Angeles County, much of it in San Fernando Valley, according to a city report. The Bothwell property was originally 30 acres, but pieces were sold off as suburban-style development enveloped the Valley after World War II.
The Bothwells stopped selling citrus from the property in 2019, but it had ceased to be a profitable operation well before that time, representatives for Borstein Enterprises told CoStar News in an email. A major reason was the property’s lack of an on-site water well.
“After incurring financial losses for decades, in large part due to the ever-increasing cost of potable water, necessary commercial citrus practices like regular pruning, fertilizing, and regular irrigation were stopped or severely curtailed, causing trees to deteriorate or die,” according to a statement from Borstein Enterprises.
The Los Angeles Planning Commission held a public hearing Aug. 21 on the planned development at 5300 North Oakdale Ave., but city staff can approve it administratively if Borstein meets legal requirements. The houses will range from 4,800 square feet to 5,100 square feet.
An additional five acres Borstein Enterprises bought from the family will be donated to the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority to be preserved as parkland, assuming the city approves the residential project. The public agency would manage the land, including the remaining orange trees, “maintaining the site as a lasting testament to the area’s rich agricultural history,” the developer said in the statement.
The developer intends to remove more than 1,000 orange trees from the property prior to construction. A consultant for the developer told city officials the 40-year-old trees were near the end of their useful lifespan. Borstein Enterprises will retain two rows of the trees at the subdivision entrance, according to the developer’s website, and will retain or plant 636 orange trees overall.