LA HABRA : Vote Again Delayed on Clothesline Ban

A controversial decision on whether to outlaw clotheslines again has been postponed by the City Council.

Council members were scheduled to vote Thursday on a proposed ordinance that would, among other things, prohibit clotheslines on front and side yards visible from the street.

But after residents protested, the vote was postponed to Sept. 1.

Last month, the council postponed the vote because residents said the ordinance was unfair to poor people and Latinos and would cause financial hardships.

About 200 people signed a petition in opposition to the proposed law.

The city then revised the ordinance and by placing more restrictions on drying laundry outdoors.

That outraged residents who said they were under the impression that the clothesline prohibition would be eliminated from the ordinance altogether.

Some blamed Dorothy Rush, a community activist who has been battling with the city for years trying to get it to adopt a strong anti-blight ordinance, for instigating the clothesline controversy.

She said she agrees with a portion of the ordinance that outlaws hanging laundry to dry on fences, trees and shrubs but opposes the clothesline prohibition. Even though she once was a strong advocate of the ordinance, Rush last week called it “totally ridiculous.”

City officials said they’ve tried to please Rush but can’t seem to strike a compromise.

Nevertheless, eliminating the clothesline prohibition from the ordinance seriously will be considered, City Manager Lee Risner said.

“All we’re trying to do is solve the damn problem,” he said.