This old, old house

June Casagrande

There are tires on the roof. Construction debris litters the lawn, as

do lawn chairs and an office chair. A trailer parked in the garage

protrudes out toward the street. Lumber, cooking pots, buckets and

electrical cords have cluttered the lawn at different times. A row of

old doors lying on their sides creates a makeshift fence.

And the city can document nuisance complaints about 1918 Dover

Drive dating back to 1961.

In a public hearing on Monday, city officials heard testimony from

neighbors of the home’s resident, Elmer Thomassen. And the No. 1

message from the seven neighbors who spoke at the hearing was that

enough is enough.

“I think it’s gone on way too long,” said Laura Perry, a Priscilla

Avenue resident who described the property as “a constant, changing

scene of debris.”

Thomassen, owner of the property since 1959, told the gathering in

City Council chambers that he has had serious health problems in

recent months, including lymphoma. He arrived at the hearing in a

wheelchair and used crutches to stand at the podium. Some neighbors,

however, said they had seen him recently riding a bicycle and

engaging in other strenuous physical activity.

From the podium, Thomassen practically took control of the

proceedings by demanding to know hearing officer Richard Murphy’s

qualifications and asking questions of audience members and demanding

that people who testified at the podium spell their names slowly and

give their addresses.

“I have a right to face my accusers,” Thomassen said, demanding

that everyone in the audience who had a complaint against him show

their hands. Most of the 28 people in the audience did.

Monday’s hearing was neither to condemn nor take control of the

property that one neighbor, Daily Pilot Publisher Tom Johnson, called

“the city dump.” Instead, the hearing set in motion a process to

declare the property a public nuisance that, in turn, will allow the

city to take Thomassen to court to clean up the property.

Assistant City Atty. Dan Ohl said that Thomassen had eluded the

city’s attempts to serve him with papers to clean up the property.

City officials told Thomassen they would submit in writing a list of

things the city wants done at the home, which is at the corner of

Dover Drive and Leila Lane.

“I’m willing to comply with reasonable things, not unreasonable

ones,” Thomassen said.

But, if city officials disagree with Thomassen’s idea of what’s

reasonable, they plan to take him to court.

Murphy and Ohl assured Thomassen that they would prefer to resolve

the issue peacably, with Thomassen’s cooperation. But attempts in

1987 by the city to get Thomassen to comply failed, officials said.

Attempts in 1995 failed as well. And some residents worry that they

may be in for more of the same.

“I’m absolutely shocked to find out this has been going on 40

years,” Diana Lane resident Michael Wedemeyer said. “I’m appalled.”

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.