The sale of the former Boething Treeland Nursery property — a 32-acre site at the border of Woodland Hills, Calabasas, and Hidden Hills is drawing new scrutiny following revelations that the transaction may not have been a single property sale for an approximately $4 million deal, but rather five separate parcel sales, occurring at the same time, totaling at least $10,245,500.
Recent news reports described the nursery’s transfer to Dignity Memorial, the nation’s largest funeral provider, as a $3.96 million sale. Public documents, however, show that the entire site was sold as five separate parcels that were all conveyed on the same day, September 5, 2024, by five separate deeds. These same-day conveyances raise serious questions about whether the transaction was designed in part to avoid the effects of Measure ULA, often referred to as the “Mansion Tax.”
Approved by City of Los Angeles voters in 2022 and effective April 1, 2023, Measure ULA imposed a 4% transfer tax on real property sales between $5 million and $10 million, and a 5.5% tax on sales of $10 million or greater. The measure applies broadly to residential, commercial, industrial, and raw land transactions within the City of Los Angeles. For context:
- A $10 million property sale would ordinarily generate approximately $550,000 in additional ULA tax liability.
- By structuring sales as multiple transactions under $5 million each, sellers and buyers may minimize or avoid the ULA tax altogether.
While the legality of such structuring remains a matter for Los Angeles City officials to sort out, the appearance of multiple smaller transactions of a property long understood to be the entirety of Boething Treeland invites concern that the intent of Measure ULA is being undermined.
Based on Los Angeles County Recorder’s Office records, the 32-acre nursery site was not sold in one transfer but through five separate transactions all recorded on September 5, 2024:
- Parcel 12 (10.99 Acres): $3,961,000
- Parcel 39 (17.19 Acres): $3,089,000
- Parcel 40 (2.57 Acres): $1,861,500
- Parcel 41 (.55 Acres): $410,500
- Parcel 42 (1.29 Acres): $923,500
Total Sales Value: $10,245,500
As structured, each individual transfer fell below the $5 million threshold that triggers Measure ULA’s 5.5% tax, meaning no ULA tax was assessed despite the aggregate sale exceeding $10 million.
In addition, it is unknown if any amount of money was paid for non-property related items, such as the “underlying business.” Any transactions outside of the property price for the “land and improvements” would fall outside of the purview of Measure ULA.
The sale of the nursery site has already sparked opposition in the community. Dignity Memorial is expected to submit plans to develop the land as a cemetery and funeral home, with neighbors voicing concerns over traffic, soil contamination and the lack of public hearings. The revelation of potentially complex sales structuring adds a new dimension to the ongoing debate about the future of the site.
Residents of Woodland Hills are calling for city officials and the Los Angeles County Recorder’s Office to review the transaction and clarify whether Measure ULA taxes were properly assessed and collected.
“Transparency matters,” said Scott J. Tepper, an attorney representing residents and stakeholders in Woodland Hills and Hidden Hills. “When multi-million-dollar land sales take place in our neighborhoods, is it possible that things have been structured solely to avoid paying required taxes? Is this transaction exploiting another loophole in an attempt to turn this nursery into a cemetery? We don’t know, but the public has the right to have assurance that the law is being applied fairly and consistently.”
Measure ULA, formally known as the Homelessness and Housing Solutions Tax, was intended to generate significant funding for housing and homelessness initiatives. Critics warned during the campaign that well-advised property owners might attempt to structure their affairs to circumvent the law, thereby reducing its effectiveness. The Boething Treeland sale could become a test case for how those concerns play out in practice.
