He Wants to Make It the Law to Be a Good Neighbor in La Habra

LA HABRA — When Dwight Finney moved to La Habra 25 years ago, his friends were envious. Today, they wonder why he still lives here.

Finney says he understands their puzzlement.

“The city is decaying,” he said one recent afternoon as he drove past several houses with trash piled in the yards. “Look at the filth.”

Finney, who moved to La Habra from Pico Rivera in 1967, feels so strongly about what he views as the town’s decline that he went to City Hall earlier this month to get the City Council to do something.

The 51-year-old retired mechanic said he wants the city to impose strict laws requiring residents to mow their lawns, keep trash out of sight and step up law enforcement to rid the city of gangs and graffiti.

Some longtime residents say La Habra reached its pinnacle in 1972 when it was named an “All-America City” by the National Municipal League for its community spirit, volunteer programs such as Meals on Wheels and the services offered at the Gary Center.

Only two other cities in Orange County--Placentia and Santa Ana--have achieved such recognition, City Manager Lee Risner said. Since then, however, major manufacturing companies have left town, and the city has steadily lost revenue, Councilman Steven C. Anderson said. Property values are falling and businesses are suffering because of what he describes as the city’s deterioration.

“People are not taking pride in their homes anymore either,” Anderson said. “That makes me sad. It’s going to take a joint venture between city government, business owners and residents to get back the status we gained in the early ‘70s.”

While acknowledging that blight and graffiti have plagued La Habra in recent years, some residents think Finney’s solutions are too harsh.

“It’s easy for people to complain,” said Linda Haft, a community activist who grew up in La Habra. “You can’t just blame our government. They can only do so much. (Finney) does have genuine concerns, but if everybody just does a little bit, a lot gets done.”

Councilman James Flora said residents often blame the council for the city’s blight but usually don’t offer to help clean it up.

“You’ll always get people with complaints,” he said. “You can put all kinds of laws on the books, but getting people to comply and then enforcing them is a different story. . . . And people still have rights. You can only infringe on rights so long.”

But Finney has supporters too, among them Anderson and Councilman Juan M. Garcia.

“I tend to agree with (Finney),” Anderson said. “We’ve been too lax with our code enforcement laws. I think (La Habra) needs improvement.”

Graffiti-covered walls and illegally placed signs on public sidewalks anger Finney and other residents.

“I don’t want La Habra to turn into a slum, but I’m afraid that’s where we’re headed,” Finney said. “This has got to be stopped or the community is going to be killed.”

Longtime resident Barbara Kays said a lot of residents agree with Finney. “We’re all behind him 100%,” she said.

Kays, who returned to La Habra after traveling abroad for three years, said: “I did not move back to La Habra for La Habra’s sake. I’m here because my family is here. But La Habra is a standing joke. People laugh when I tell them I’m from here.

“It’s time for the City Council to be held accountable. I’ve watched La Habra grow since I was a child, and it’s not improved. The city has gone downhill, and the direction needs to be reversed now.”

But as the city tries to deal with a possible $1.5-million deficit in the 1993-94 budget, city officials said it won’t be easy to adopt ordinances that require code enforcement. In fact, La Habra does not have a code enforcement officer. The position was eliminated last year in budget cuts. City officials said they want to reinstate the position next year.

“Nobody likes the city the way it is, but the enforcement part is going to be a little difficult,” Garcia said. “We do not have enough enforcement to go around.”

Regardless, Risner said La Habra has dozens of volunteer programs that try to help residents keep the city prospering, and he insisted that the city is not “going downhill.”

“Our community is volunteer oriented,” Risner said. “That makes La Habra a much better place to live. We are having some problems with businesses going broke, but that’s because of the economy, not the city. And cleaning the city is the neighbors’ responsibility. (Government) can’t take responsibility for everything. There’s not enough money in the world to do everything.”

Likewise, Mayor William D. Mahoney, who is a licensed real estate broker, said property values are declining in the city, just as in other cities, only because of the recession. He said La Habra’s troubles can be solved by active community volunteers.

“Are we Irvine? Are we Newport Beach? No. A lot of communities may be prettier, but when it comes to solving problems, we are going to make a real impact because we have a good spirit of community that other cities don’t. That’s how we’ll solve our problems,” he said.

Still, Finney said he thinks that the city should bear the burden. “I remember when we could live in our homes with all the doors open,” he said. “Now we have locks on all the windows and security lights around the house.”

He vowed to keep prodding council members until the city’s streets are “clean and safe.”

“I’m going to stand at the council’s doorstep until that happens,” said Finney, who helped form a Neighborhood Watch group on his street.

“It’s going to take a lot of work on the part of the council, the Police Department and the residents to make new laws and enforce them, but I’m not giving up,” he said.