Jail Term for Filthy Home Averted --Judge Lauds Woman’s Cleanup

A college professor who faces a three-month jail term for defying demands to clean up her garbage-strewn Huntington Harbor home has made “real efforts” to comply with safety and health codes and does not deserve imprisonment, an Orange County judge ruled Friday.

Superior Court Judge Robert H. Gallivan stayed the sentence he imposed last month on Elena Zagustin, saying inspectors reported that the home is near full compliance with city laws.

Neighbors--who for years have complained that filthy conditions at the home pose a health hazard--greeted the ruling with anger and disbelief.

But Gallivan said the unsafe conditions had been largely abated and congratulated Zagustin for making “tremendous improvements.”

Under his sentencing guidelines, Gallivan can still impose the jail term if Zagustin’s property violates city codes during her three-year probation.

“If you continue to comply, there will be no need to jail you,” Gallivan told Zagustin, who did not speak at the proceeding and afterward declined to discuss it.

The decision is the latest twist in a bitter decade-long feud among neighbors that has captured national attention and generated so much controversy that it prompted city officials to form a team to identify unkempt homes.

The standoff has also generated several lawsuits resulting in $300,000 worth of judgments against Zagustin, a professor of civil engineering at Cal State Long Beach.

Several neighbors who attended the hearing in Westminster expressed shock at the decision, claiming that the judge failed to recognize Zagustin’s “recurring” pattern of acting only when faced with penalties.

One neighbor stormed out of the courtroom after the judge, referring to reports of harassment against Zagustin, warned neighbors not to continue the “vicious cycle” of recriminations.

“She should be jailed. She has to learn her lesson that there are laws and rules to follow,” said next-door neighbor Beverly Goulette, who claimed that the Morse Circle house still poses a risk to neighbors.

“There is still debris piled up in her backyard that is combustible and is right next to my house.”

But Huntington Beach Deputy City Atty. Jennifer McGrath expressed satisfaction with the judge’s ruling.

The threat of a jail term, she said, is proving effective in forcing Zagustin to comply with city laws.

In November, Zagustin was convicted on 69 charges and the judge’s sentence allows officials to inspect the home without notice.

“If she fails to comply, then we have a tool we didn’t have in the past,” McGrath said.

She said the progress report submitted to the judge was based on an inspection made earlier this week by officials from the city’s fire, code enforcement and building departments.

The house is now in full compliance with fire codes, according to McGrath.

She said some debris remains to be cleaned up to meet code enforcement rules.

The judge set an April 22 date for the next progress report hearing.