Paying fines for his day in court

On the last hour of the last day afforded to out-of-work contractor Kevin Doane to pay $400 in fines from the city of Costa Mesa for allowing his lawn to deteriorate into a heap of dirt, he paid up — in small change.

Friday afternoon he walked into the city cashier’s office and plopped a sack with $30 in quarters down on the table along with assorted bills totaling $400.

“When I saw the bag I thought, ‘Oh God, I hope it’s not all quarters,’” said cashier Larry Bell.

For months prior Doane had adamantly refused to pay the fine. His crusade has recently attracted some media attention, which he says he’s not used to. A news van from KTLA-TV Channel 5 woke him Friday morning, knocking on his door, and a KABC-TV Channel 7 crew interviewed him later in the afternoon.

“You wouldn’t believe how funny this has gotten. I’ve lived my life in anonymity. I’m one of those Monday-morning quarterbacks. I complain about whatever happened in football on the weekend. I don’t go and put myself out here like this,” Doane said.

But Doane has shown he has a penchant for the theatrical.

The fines had been accruing for months, as he refused to bow to the city’s orders and pay the citations. And he didn’t refuse quietly. In early December he walked into the City Council meeting, took the podium and launched into a three-minute tirade, much to the chagrin of some city officials who saw the action as an affront to due process.

Mayor Pro Tem Wendy Leece, he said, had convinced him to stop watering his lawn by constantly challenging residents to conserve water from her seat at the dais because of the impending drought. After he lost his job, he thought the move would not only save water, but save money as well.

“I’m not going to water my yard. I’m not going to put in grass. I’m not going to do any of that although you maintain that I need to because my citation says that I have to keep it green. If I have to keep doing this and getting pushed, I will get some spray paint and paint my yard green. This is where I’m going to go with this. Or I’ll get some really ugly green rock and put rock on my dirt, which my neighbors have all said, ‘Please, Kevin, don’t do that,’” he told the council in a frustrated tone.

A month after his initial appearance he reappeared to make a second plea. Just before the encore performance, Doane was denied an appeal that he made to a hearing officer to not pay the citations because of financial hardship. Earlier that year, he had lost his job as the local construction industry floundered and he said that $400 was more than he could afford. But he didn’t bring in the tax returns and bank statements the officer requested to prove his claims, code enforcement said.

At Tuesday’s council meeting he brought with him a cardboard sign with black, hand-written lettering that said, “Need money to pay city of Costa Mesa $400 fine — Can’t work, will lose unemployment — Will take any donation.”

City officials have called Doane’s polemics counterproductive, and have said that the city is perfectly willing to accommodate him if he can’t pay the fines or afford to water his lawn, but he’s going about it the wrong way. Doane is considering Friday’s payment a temporary loan to the city. He plans to fight the citation with the city prosecutor.

“I had to pay the fine. I want my day in court. If I don’t follow the rules I give up my day in court. I want to show people that this is what a person has to go through when they take a dare from a City Council member,” Doane said.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com.