Retirees’ Pet Rule Unleashes Rebels

Loretta Owens and her 10-pound poodle, Taffy, are unlikely symbols of the discord sweeping the Leisure World retirement community in Seal Beach.

Owens, 78, got Taffy a few months ago at the urging of her doctor, who thought a pet would be therapeutic for her. Dogs are allowed inside Leisure World condominiums but are banned from the more than 500 acres of common ground in the sprawling development.

As result, Owens must bring her dog to her car and drive out of Leisure World if she wants to take Taffy for a walk. Residents have been ticketed by security guards for walking their dogs inside Leisure World’s walls.

“The humiliation,” said Owens, who like other residents doesn’t have a private yard next to her condo. “Like I was committing some kind of crime walking my animal. I feel more like a tenant than an owner.”

To Owens and other residents, the pet policy exemplifies what is wrong with Leisure World.

They contend that the administration cares more about imposing rules and asserting its control than meeting the needs of the 8,400 people who live there.

Galvanized by the pet issue and other hot-button topics, rebellious residents have joined together, publishing underground newsletters with names like the Communicator, circulating petitions and creating insurgent Web sites.

On the pet front, several dog owners have filed complaints with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing, alleging that the policy is discriminatory. Those cases are pending.

Another target of the critics is the administration’s plan to build a $1.6-million clubhouse. Officials said there is a demand for more clubhouse space for an exercise room, sports events and activities.

But detractors said the plan is a waste of money, noting the four existing clubhouses are not fully used.

Critics are also worried that the administration will continue to charge a $50 monthly mortgage fee that was supposed to be phased out over the next few years.

A recent meeting of the dissidents drew about 130 people--many of them fired up.

“Give me 30 people!” shouted Hal Ehrlich. “We’ll have a sit-down strike in front of the administration building. Police will have to cart us away. I say let’s picket.”

Harbir “Bill” Narang, administrator at Leisure World for nearly 20 years, said the dissenters represent a small minority of the 8,400 residents and that most people are content with the way things are.

“There’s always going to be some disagreement,” Narang said. “It happens in every city, every household. Here it is no different.”

The pet issue is a good example, he said.

Only 137 pets--40 dogs and 97 cats--are registered at Leisure World. Most of the residents don’t want pets in the community, Narang said. Animals can be noisy, and if a dog gets away from an owner on the common grounds, people are at risk of being bitten or knocked down, he said.

Leisure World’s common grounds are governed by the Golden Rain Foundation Board of Directors, whose 18 members are elected by residents. The directors have so far backed the administration on the dog policy.

Critics say they’ve tried to work within the system but have been thwarted.

Aubrey McCarthy, 72, said he organized about 20 volunteers and gathered more than 1,000 signatures on two petitions, one calling for all major projects to be put on the in-house ballot, and the other calling for a vote on the clubhouse.

The first petition was declared invalid, said McCarthy, and the other is being evaluated by Leisure World attorneys. But in the meantime, the Golden Rain board approved the clubhouse project.

Building the clubhouse would mean a $3-a-month increase in residents’ fees. Some people said they can’t afford it.

Ralph Gocke said that after he and his wife, Theresa, buy food, pay their car insurance, association fees and utility bills, they have little left.

They rarely have the luxury of eating out, Gocke said. He earns a little extra cash by redeeming bottles he collects around town. He depends on a monthly donation from the Orange County Food Bank.

“Now they’re going to build this stupid building which they need like a hole in the head,” and raise his monthly fees, Gocke said.

Narang said the new clubhouse enjoys wide support in the community and that a few malcontents are stirring up trouble. “The board [has] come to the conclusion that we do need more facilities because of the demand of our residents,” he said.

Gilbert Simons, 73, who heads the table tennis club that would have more space in the new facility, said the club now has to turn people away.

“If we had more tables and time, we could have more beginners and returning players,” Simons said.

The infighting seems out of place in a community of immaculately kept lawns and tranquillity, where residents get around in vintage golf carts and oversized tricycles.

Starting this year, the condominium owners will begin to pay off the 40-year loans that the developer received to build the units. Each unit pays about $50 a month toward those loans.

But some residents worry that the administration might increase their monthly fees by about the same amount when the loans are paid off.

Narang said the Golden Rain board has been discussing what to do when the mortgages are paid off. “There have been discussions in informal settings because our community is 40 years old. Appliances are fairly old, the sewer system is in need of repairs,” and roads and sidewalks need to be maintained, he said. “The question has been what do we need to do to set proper reserves for the future, and we are in the process of doing those studies.”

This doesn’t sit well with Dave Lyon, 57, who proudly wears a nametag saying the Golden Rain Foundation “labels me a DISSENTER, but you can call me DAVE.”

“I was naive enough to think that all you had to do was speak to [the administration] about things they might not have considered, but I learned that they are remote from the average shareholder,” he said. “It’s like they’re an elite club instead of representatives of the people who elected them.”