Rainwater percolating over the ancient strata of all three canyons emerges at their lowest altitude as the springs feeding Franklin's Lake and Creek.

[4] Benedict Canyon was a part of Rancho de las Aguas ("Ranch of the Waters"), which also included present-day Beverly Hills.

With help from his wife and sons, E. A. Benedict built an apiary that was so bountiful that in one year, they were reported to have made a single shipment of 45,000 pounds (20,000 kg) of honey from Santa Monica Pier.

Upon its completion in 1929,[5] Greenacres had a private 9-hole golf course, one of the largest pools in the western US, and a miniature English village built for Lloyd's daughter, Gloria.

After Harold Lloyd's death in 1971, the property was left to his family, but mounting debt and a delinquency on the promissory note led City National Bank to foreclose on it by the end of 1974.

Proceedings were paused as the Beverly Hills city council considered acquiring the grounds and establishing it as a film museum, but the plan was ultimately abandoned due in part to the $700,000 cost of paying off the accrued debts, an additional $180,000 needed to collect various artifacts for the museum, $500,000 to redevelop the site, and roughly $100,000 a year in maintenance costs, all of which would defer city funds for other projects.

Nasrollah Afshani, a retired Iranian businessman and Beverly Hills resident, bought the estate for $1.6 million telling the Los Angeles Times that he was "looking at property, shopping centers, to buy".

Sharon Tate, Roman Polanski's pregnant wife, and four others were killed by members of the Manson Family at the couple's 10050 Cielo Drive home.

In 2000, Benedict Canyon homeowners won a legal battle against the City of Los Angeles over the latter relaxing height requirements to allow a 45,000-square-foot villa that Mark R. Hughes had hoped to build on the area’s highest peak.

[11] Benedict Canyon has a mix of vegetation and growth that is endemic to Southern California: oaks and grasses on the lower slopes, and chaparral and lupine on the higher hillsides.

Just away from the urban edge, other predators, such as grey fox, mountain lion, American badger, long-tailed weasel, and ringtailed cat, occupy various niches.

Topanga and Malibu Creeks contain tidewater gobies, arroyo chub, and the endangered Southern California Distinct Population Segment of steelhead.

Some of the upper reaches of the Los Angeles River at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains harbor populations of the Santa Ana sucker and speckled dace.

[citation needed] The Hillside Ordinance to limit building height at 36 feet (11 m) and stipulate restrictions on set-back, side yards or parking, was a product of Association lobbying and participation.

[citation needed] "Adopt Fire Station 99" is another community grass-roots organization representing about 9,000 residents in the Mulholland-Benedict Canyon area.

Going hand-in-hand with the BCA, residents helped to generate the media attention, popular support, and political will that defeated the city's plan to reduce from two to one the number of paramedics available at each Fire Station to deliver emergency care.

As part of the plan, the Department of Transportation tows away cars that are parked illegally on narrow hillside streets on "red flag days," when fire danger is high.

When fire conditions reach the critical red flag level — 25 mph (40 km/h) wind and relative humidity below 15% — illegally parked vehicles that restrict access are ticketed and towed.