Barbara Fine; Neighborhood Advocate on Water Quality, Development Issues

Barbara Fine, 60, longtime activist for local homeowners groups who was a vocal advocate for neighborhoods on issues such as water quality and development. Fine grew up in Springfield, Mass., moving to Los Angeles in 1963. In the early 1970s, she became active in her homeowners group, the Benedict Canyon Assn., fighting against proposals to develop hillsides. She soon was leading the fight to preserve the Santa Monica Mountains as a member of the Federation of Hillside and Canyon Assns., the city’s oldest homeowners federation, which represents home and property owners on both sides of the Santa Monica Mountains. She eventually became federation vice president and a familiar presence at City Hall, weighing in on an array of issues. From 1988 to 1990, she also headed the city’s Solid Waste Citizens Advisory Group, a watchdog panel appointed by the City Council. She was a commissioner on the Los Angeles County Water Appeals Board. In 1995, she opened a consulting business advising community groups on urban and hillside development. She is survived by her husband, Alan, two children and her mother. On April 28 in Los Angeles of a heart attack.