Man In the Lighthouse Still in the Spotlight : Lifestyle: Julian Jimenez has been the live-in custodian at Point Fermin landmark for 11 years. The city has tried to evict him, but residents have rallied to his side.

More than a year after his first eviction notice, Julian Jimenez still hasn’t moved out of his house. His neighbors hope that he never will.

Jimenez isn’t a deadbeat behind on his rent--in fact, he doesn’t pay any rent at all. And the house he’s not moving out of isn’t just a house. It’s a lighthouse, the Point Fermin Lighthouse in San Pedro, where Jimenez, a maintenance supervisor for the city of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, has lived for the past 11 years.

The fact that Jimenez is still there more than a year after his boss ordered him to leave is testimony to the power of local residents who fought the city bureaucracy and--so far, at least--won.

“It’s an excellent example of grass-roots organizing,” says Martha Austin McKinzie, founder of a citizens group called Friends of the Point Fermin Lighthouse, which spearheaded the fight to keep Jimenez in the 119-year-old landmark. “He’s done an excellent job and nobody, or almost nobody, wanted him to go. As soon as we heard what they were trying to do, the phones started ringing. Now it looks as if (parks officials) are just letting the whole thing die.”

Says Jimenez: “They had a big shootout and I’m still here. I haven’t heard any noises about making me leave, lately anyway. I’m hoping they’ve just forgotten about it.”

The controversy began in May of last year, when Jimenez was told he would have to move out of the lighthouse, which sits atop a bluff in Point Fermin Park. Built in 1874 for the federal government, it has been owned by the city since 1927. It ceased being a functioning lighthouse during World War II. In 1972, after undergoing renovation, it was included in the National Register of Historic Places.

Last year’s eviction order came from David Gonzalez, the then-new assistant general manager for the city parks department’s Pacific Region who wanted to change the way the lighthouse was operated. Turning the lighthouse into a museum was one idea. Having someone from the “recreation” side of the Department of Recreation and Parks live there was another.

None of Gonzalez’s plans included Jimenez. The eviction order was a blow to Jimenez, 53, who called living in the lighthouse “a dream come true,” and who had hoped to remain there until his retirement in four years.

A bachelor who earns about $32,000 a year, Jimenez had lived in the two-bedroom lighthouse for a decade, paying only his utility bills and a $170-a-year fee. Although old and drafty, the lighthouse offers a spectacular view, particularly from the top of the 50-foot-high tower that used to house the lighthouse’s powerful light.

In return for the rent-free housing, Jimenez provided 24-hour security in the park and surrounding areas and was always available if maintenance problems arose in Point Fermin Park or other nearby city parks.

During his tenure in the lighthouse, Jimenez became part of the Point Fermin community, a close-knit group that jealously guards its area against any threats, whether from bureaucrats or gang members. Local residents worried that without Jimenez there to keep an eye on things, the park would deteriorate.

So residents were upset to hear that a bureaucrat was kicking him out. Days after the news broke, the parks department offices were flooded with letters and phone calls. Petitions protesting Jimenez’s eviction drew hundreds of signatures. A rally at Point Fermin Park in June, 1992, in support of Jimenez drew a large crowd.

At first, Gonzalez refused to budge, saying the decision was final. Later, after then-City Council member Joan Milke Flores got involved in Jimenez’s behalf, Gonzalez agreed to a 60-day reprieve for Jimenez, but insisted, “There’s no doubt about it, (Jimenez) is not going to stay.”

That was a year ago. And Jimenez hasn’t heard a word since about moving out.

“For the time being, at least, it’s on hold,” Gonzalez said last week, acknowledging that community pressure had forced the department to change its plans to move Jimenez. “That’s not to say that something won’t change in the future. But for now, nothing’s being done.”

“It was all because of community action,” said Karla Bittner, president of the Palisades Residents Assn., which also protested Jimenez’s planned removal from the lighthouse. “I think (the parks department) has learned that they need to work with the community on things like this.”

Said Jimenez: “I never felt so great in all my life as when I got all that support from the community. Even now, not a day goes by that someone doesn’t say to me, ‘Hey, glad you’re still here.’ ”