Some Hit the Roof Over Oceanside’s Address Plan

Tom O’Riley is for law and order, but a proposal for Oceanside homeowners to assist police helicopters by painting their addresses in huge, bright numbers on their roofs makes him feel almost like a criminal.

“Essentially, what it’s asking us to do is paint cell block numbers on our houses. It’ll look like we’re all in prison,” said O’Riley, who lives in a trim neighborhood of Cape Cod-style homes.

Noting that the numbers would be about 3 feet high and painted in bold orange or yellow, O’Riley said, “It’ll be an atrocious-looking thing.”

Although he is not alone, there is an equally strident opposing view by people who think aesthetics are no substitute for police protection.

“It just annoys me that people wouldn’t put the safety of their family or neighborhood first,” said Donna McGinty, a board member for the Oceanside Neighborhood Block Captains Assn.

McGinty, the leading advocate of rooftop addresses, said homeowners who balk at the voluntary program “might consider their own position when there’s a burglary or a rape taking place, a child drowning in the pool or a heart attack.”

What has made this spirited spat possible is the City Council’s recent approval of money for the Police Department to buy two helicopters that will begin service on July 1. Already, police pilots are training over the city.

Oceanside’s aerial patrol is modeled after that of the Pasadena Police Department, which put helicopters aloft in 1972 and, largely through the zeal of neighborhood anti-crime organizations, has gotten at least 5% of city residences to display rooftop addresses.

Investigator Mike White, a Pasadena police helicopter pilot, said “there’s more volunteers in higher crime areas,” where compliance may reach about 30%. But, he added, “We’ve got some multimillion-dollar homes with numbers on them.”

Oceanside’s Neighborhood Watch groups began showing a video on Pasadena’s program, but the address scheme has played to mixed reviews.

In O’Riley’s neighborhood, a flyer from Blair Daniels, coordinator of the Americana Homes Neighborhood Watch, called residents together for a meeting late last month.

She announced that, “because of our enthusiasm,” Americana Homes “will be the forerunning neighborhood to participate in the new Police Helicopter Program.” The notice went on that “every other home needs to have their house numbers painted on the backside of their rooftops.”

It further referred homeowners to McGinty to get do-it-yourself painting instructions or to help locate a professional who would paint the roughly 3-foot-high letters for $8 apiece.

O’Riley, who said he doesn’t object to the police helicopters per se, read the flyer and bolted through his front door. He said he visited 32 neighborhood homes and got all but two to sign a petition against the roof address program.

“Our roofs are all black and have a fairly steep pitch, so they’d (numbers) be fairly visible throughout the neighborhood,” he complained.

What also rankled the neighbors is the impression the addresses would create for prospective home buyers, who, O’Riley said, “are going to think you’ve got a crime problem.”

He acknowledges that some neighbors support the effort, but the visual impact would affect the whole neighborhood. “I feel like there are three or four people who are going to do this, but it’s going to affect all of us,” he said.

McGinty said she has heard “lots of pro and con” about the proposal, but insists that “it absolutely makes good common sense. I’m personally willing to put aesthetics aside for the sake of safety.”

Rather than detract from a home, McGinty believes the addresses will be a “positive selling point” by convincing home buyers that a neighborhood has an active crime prevention program.

Noting that Oceanside has sign restrictions, she intends to seek a city ordinance that will make allowances for the helicopter patrol.

Oceanside Police Chief Lee Drummond said his department hasn’t taken a position on the voluntary address program. “We would prefer each neighborhood to assess its own needs,” he said.

He added, though, that rooftop addresses would be a useful crime-fighting tool for his pilots.

Certainly that’s been the experience in Pasadena, where helicopter pilot White said roof addresses “are the most useful thing a helicopter observer has” to pinpoint a location day or night.

“There have been times a suspect has run into a back yard and we’ve been able to guide ground units” in pursuit, he said.

When Pasadena began using helicopters, Lt. Chris Hagerty started the volunteer roof-address program. He recalled that opposition from homeowners was “literally none.”