ANAHEIM : Neighbors Again Raise Questions on Eli Home

The Eli Home, a shelter for battered women that was approved by the City Council last fall, came under attack again this week by neighbors who don’t want the home in their neighborhood.

The question before the council was a request by operators of the home to build a block wall around the facility that would encroach on city property along Santa Ana Canyon Road.

However, the matter quickly escalated.

A private detective hired by neighbors told the council the home’s operators have a questionable financial background, allegations that Eli Home Executive Director Lori Galloway contends were “twisted and misconstrued.”

While Councilman Tom Tait said such allegations were “irrelevant to a land-use issue,” Councilman Lou Lopez wanted the matter investigated. Mayor Tom Daly said he had reservations about the encroachment itself.

With the request to build the wall certain to go down to defeat, Jeff Farano, an attorney for the Eli Home, withdrew the request but may return to the council to discuss the issue again.

Resident Gene Secrest, who lives next door to the facility, charged this week that the organization has had problems with paying rent in previous locations and troubles with the Internal Revenue Service.

“There is just a pattern of dishonesty,” Secrest said. “We will ask the city whether they will reconsider the original application.”

Galloway acknowledged this week that the Eli Home, which is in an upscale Anaheim Hills community and scheduled to open this summer, has had financial problems in the past.

“We are not city, state or federally funded because we chose not to burden the system,” Galloway said. “Money has always been a problem because fund raising and donations fluctuate. We’ve had some lean times.”