Whatever Happened to Neighborliness? : * Citizens Band Radio Enthusiast Who Saved Lives Should Be Lauded, Not Fined $50

The recent story of the citizens band radio enthusiast who ran afoul of his Laguna Hills homeowners association was chock full of lessons in neighborliness. We hear a lot about the need for people to get along, and separately, about the excessive zeal of neighborhood associations. This unusual tale had all of the above.

Richard Wright, a 20-year-old Explorer Scout, was targeted by his homeowners association in Laguna Hills after he used his citizens band radio to guide a Coast Guard helicopter and Orange County sheriff’s patrol boat to rescue a boat stranded off Dana Point. Instead of giving Wright a badge, they went after him for using his CB at all. The 124-member Moulton Parkway Assn. No. 1 fined Wright $50. Neighbors complained that Wright’s communications interrupted their cordless telephones and television reception.

It seemed like the ultimate tale of Orange County homeowners associations run amok. They are fabled for their varied restrictions on everything from housing color choices, to whether vegetables can be grown within view (gasp!) of the street. But here was a youngster who had saved lives and was getting docked for being a good Samaritan.

In fairness to the association, such interference at most times obviously could be annoying and generally unneighborly. But what timing.

Unfortunately, there was more to the story. The Orange County Human Relations Commission confirmed that it had stepped in to conduct an informal mediation last year between Wright’s family and a neighbor who had complained about the young man.

All in all, this was a story that should have had a happy, feel-good ending. Instead, it left people feeling uneasy, and not just in the neighborhood. The lessons seem obvious enough. Don’t quibble about the rules when lives are at stake. And neighbors ought to be able to iron out their differences and learn how to get along.