Much More Than a One-Horse Town : La Habra Heights: Developed as an agricultural area, the large lots appeal to equestrians and others who like the wide open space.

Paul and Claire Spothelfer first came to La Habra Heights in 1982, when they were shopping for a horse. They lived in Downey, but had their three horses boarded elsewhere and were also looking for horse property to buy.

Paul Spothelfer thought the Heights might be the place for them. Although Claire was intimidated by the hilly terrain and narrow roads, they found the ideal home.

“There was the horse setup with a barn, hot walker and arena, a house that was the right size and a spectacular view,” Claire said. “We took to it immediately.”

Today, she is just finishing her term as president of the La Habra Heights Improvement Assn. Her husband is a general contractor in the area.

La Habra Heights, in southeast Los Angeles County, is a city of more than 5,400 residents covering 6.2 square miles surrounded by Whittier, Hacienda Heights, unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and La Habra, in Orange County.

The city was incorporated in 1978, but the La Habra Heights Improvement Assn. has been in existence since 1937 and for years served as the voice of the people in the Heights, Claire Spothelfer said.

The association’s main purpose was to maintain the rural life style of the area as well as low-density housing. With incorporation, the city was able to ensure 1-acre minimum zoning, or more in the case of extreme slopes.

In the 1920s and 1930s La Habra Heights developed as an agricultural area, and a 1930 survey showed there were 1,292 acres of avocado orchards, 282 acres of orange, lemon and citron orchards and 43 acres of miscellaneous plantings.

There were also 95 homes, a mix of weekend cottages and large Spanish-style homes for show business personalities and oil barons. A 1920s National Geographic article described La Habra Heights as one of the “three most beautiful living spots in the world.”

Today many of the older homes remain, and the city abounds with old orchards as well as flowering eucalyptus, blue gum and acacia trees.

The area has remained rural, and horsemanship has been an important element of life in the Heights. Horses are kept by many residents, and there are two riding rings available and access to trails.

The city is also overwhelmingly residential. There is no commercial retail zoning in the city; no stores or gas stations. Residents shop in the surrounding cities.

There also are no schools, and children attend classes in either Whittier or La Habra. Bus service is available to some schools, but not to all.

An exception to the city’s tough zoning is the realty office of Edwin G. Hart, located on a corner of Hacienda Boulevard since 1946. The office has a nonconforming use permit until the year 2011, according to Mayor Jean Good.

It was Hart, who in the 1920s, had a vision for La Habra Heights. Hart, who died in 1939, believed that the frost-free hills could be transformed into a remarkable avocado growing belt. He bought 3,500 acres and began marketing parcels as avocado ranches, and many groves remain today.

Good, who also served as the city’s first mayor in 1978, moved to La Habra Heights in 1968 with three young children and five quarter horses. The family ran Good’s Western Store in Whittier.

“I grew up in Whittier,” Good said, “and we had always wanted to live in the Heights. When we moved here we thought we had found heaven. I’ve never thought otherwise.”

Good became active in civic affairs shortly after moving to the Heights when she received a notice about a plan to build 50 homes on a nearby 16-acre parcel. She and many of her neighbors rallied together to stop that proposed development and have been active since in efforts to preserve the natural terrain and rural flavor of the community.

The Heights’ amenities make it an expensive housing market.

The average price of homes will run between $695,000 and $795,000, said Glenda Tuppan, a real estate agent in the Barbara Nix office in Whittier. Tuppan has been a Heights resident since 1951 and has served on the City Council and as mayor.

“There was a time when we had 15 homes in the million-dollar bracket for sale,” she said.

“A three-bedroom house has just come on the market for $249,000,” an unusual occurrence, she said. “An older two-bedroom is on the market for $299,500.” Smaller two-bedroom homes that were built in the ‘40s will run in the low $300,000s, as a rule.

The community is divided into East Heights and West Heights by Hacienda Boulevard.

Joe and Karen Rakowski moved into the West Heights last summer. They paid in the low $300,000s for the 1,700-square-foot three-bedroom, two-bath view home that was built in 1933. They enjoy walking in their neighborhood as well as riding their bikes.

And the Heights’ wildlife especially delights the Rakowskis.

“We have raccoons,” Joe Rakowski said. “I opened the kitchen door once and almost stepped on one. I have sat in the yard, and they’ll come within 5 feet of me. We’ve had a peacock in the yard, and we’ve seen guinea hens crossing the road.”

Before moving, the couple had a short commute to work, Karen to General Telephone in Downey and Joe to South Gate, where he is a production control manager for Anadite. Now they drive together for about 45 minutes to get to and from work but they don’t mind.

“I love coming home here,” Joe said.

Bud and Dottie Hynes have owned three homes in the city.

“We paid $21,000 in 1960, and it was the least expensive house in the Heights at the time,” Dottie said. After 10 years, they wanted a larger home and moved to their second Heights residence. “We lived there 18 years, and then sold and moved to Whittier into a house we were going to remodel.” They only lived there five months.

“I remember we came to a Constitution Day event the city (of La Habra Heights) put on and I felt like we were standing on the sidelines because we didn’t live here any more,” she recalled. “The next day we started looking for another house.”

That was in 1987, and they paid in the mid-$300,000 range for their 3,100-square-foot, 4-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath home.

Bruce and Ellen Douglas are newlyweds and also newcomers to La Habra Heights.

When they started their house hunting there were not too many for sale in their price range in the high $300,000s. The 1,800-square-foot, one-bedroom house they found was built in 1953 and is on a half-acre. They moved in last October.

“From the entrance, the house looks like nothing,” Ellen Douglas said. “The street is not very appealing and not well maintained. It’s hard to find parking on such a steeply graded area.” They were not impressed until they walked into the house and found that it had a view that stretched to Disneyland.

Crime in the community is “very, very low,” said Capt. Bill Stonich of the sheriff’s station in City of Industry, the agency that has a contract with the city for police protection. Traffic enforcement is the major concern, he said.

“In La Habra Heights, you have an affluent rural type of community with a great deal of community involvement (and) long-term residents who look out for each other,” he said.

While residents are loyal to their community, there are concerns that must be dealt with. Many of the narrow roads are in need of repair. The two major arteries, Fullerton Road and Hacienda Boulevard are both scheduled for major improvements in the 1990s. Funds will come from federal, state and county government.

Other concerns reflect the rural nature of La Habra Heights.

Claire Spothelfer said her improvement association is concerned that too many residents fail to even put up their house numbers.

“This could be vital in an emergency,” she said.

AT A GLANCE Population 1989 estimate: 6,900 1980-89 change: 44.3% Median age: 39.3 years Racial/ethnic mix White (non-Latino): 85.3% Latino: 10.7% Other: 3.8% Black: 0.1% Annual income Per capita: 22,374 Median household: 57,771 Household distribution Less than $15,000: 7.1% $15,000 - $30,000: 10.7% $30,000 - $50,000: 23.9% $50,000 - $75,000: 26.7% $75,000 + 31.6%