Did you just move to
La Habra Heights?
Check out our movin' in page

Buying a house? See
What is for sale.

Find out about
recent home sale prices

Learn about the Open Space & Wildlife Corridor that borders our City

Powers & Limitations of a City, including Brown Act, Recalls, Initiatives & Referendum

Why Is La Habra Heights Such a Beautiful Place & Different From Others?

Because of our
General Plan! *
Read it Here

Introduction	Land Use
Circulation	Safety
Environmental Resource Management Plan	Noise
Implementation	Air Quality
Implementation Matrix	Contributors

See how the General Plan was truly a Community effort & must not be ignored by City Officials

*The General Plan is the "Constitution" of the City.
Read it to understand what La Habra Heights is about, and to get a sense of what can,
and can't, be done.

See the Original General Plan

La Habra Heights Municipal Code


Setbacks, Grading, Lot Coverage, Retaining Walls, etc, is in Article 7.
Also see Article 12, as some details are there.

	On City Server	On Our Server*
1	General Provisions	Art 1
2	City Administration	Art 2
3	Taxes & Licenses	Art 3
4	Safety & Environmental Quality	Art 4
5	Building, Electrical, Plumbing & Mechanical	Art 5
6	Streets, Rights or Way & Encroachments	Art 6
7	Development Code & Zoning Ordinance	Art 7
8	Administrative Procedures	Art 8
9	Subdivisions	Art 9
10	Regulation of Businesses & Franchises	Art 10
12	Definitions	Art 12

*Use our server copy when City website is down, then confirm later with city in case of changes.

See the OLD Municipal Code, 2000 Grading and Zoning version, here

This Code was valid through 2006, not many/any changes from 2000 version

See the La Habra Heights Fire Dept Map, which shows driveways, hydrants and pools.
Scanning courtesy of FireWatch

Interesting History of
La Habra Heights

City and Other Government Info

City of La Habra Heights Web Site

The City Staff and Officials

County, State, & Federal Elected Representatives

To All Los Angeles County Information

Information about the Wildlife Corridor Authority

California State Home Page

School Information

Lowell Joint School District

Fullerton Joint Union High School District

Whittier Union High School

Earthquake Links

See a list of the most recent California earthquakes with times, locations, & magnitudes or See a Map of recent quakes

See The Latest Map Of Seismic Hazard Zones

Caltech

Plants

Find out what are the best types of low water use plants to grow

California Native Plant Society

Fullerton Arboretum - Native Plant Sale Each Fall Too

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

Xeriscaping: Establishing a Water Efficient Landscape

California Rare Fruit Growers

All you ever wanted to know about Avocados

BeWaterWise, including Fire Safe Low Water Use Plants and Trees

A Special Place & Special People

La Habra Heights is defined by the rural environment, lack of street lights, and low density.

La Habra Heights residents have vigorously and successfully defended our community against threats to our rural environment from within and adjacent to our community.

Residents have fought off high density housing, the 39 Freeway, condos in the hills of Whittier, development in Powder Canyon, the widening of Hacienda Blvd. and many others over the years.

As stated by a prominent resident, one of the most insidious and damaging threats is the one by one exceptions and variances to our Zoning Code which slowly, but surely, erodes the rural environment and quality of life.

Those interested in the history of the City can borrow the tape or DVD "The Story of La Habra Heights" at City Hall.

 "Beware of those who tout "individual property rights"

"Beware of those who tout "individual property rights" because that usually translates into"let's destroy the zoning and make this place look like the rest Los Angeles County". Experience has taught me that those people usually want no controls on their development, but want to tell everyone else what to do."

The first part of the Mayor's column written for the April 1990 Heights Life, by the outgoing four time mayor, who was instrumental in the founding of the City.

This was read into the public record by Julia Higgs at the August 12, 2002 GPAC Town Hall Meeting

MAYOR'S COLUMN

THE BATTLE IS NEVER OVER

Time and people have been kind to La Habra Heights. Always, it has seemed that we are in the right place at the right time to save this special place from high density development and preserve it for future generations. One needs only to look at Hacienda Heights to the north or the newly emerging Shea development in Rowland Heights to the east to understand why we became a city. This hillside village is too beautiful to allow it to go the way of neighboring communities.

The battle to preserve La Habra Heights will continue. I remember turning to James Littlejohn when we had just won the incorporation struggle and saying, 'It's over, La Habra Heights is safe!." and James replied, "It will never he over, Jean, as long as there is money to be made here." And he was right! Often, people appear in front of the Council saying, "I love this community. I want to keep it the way it is - except for my home which I am going to build four stories high, in a stream bed, and by the way I am going to have to exceed the grading ordinance by 100%, and I would like to run an asphalt plant in the backyard- but I want to keep La Habra Heights the way it is"

Well, take it from an old mayor, you can't have it both ways my friends. Either you maintain your strict standards for development or you lose it all. The most beautiful communities in California; Santa Barbara, Rancho Santa Fe, Rolling Hills, etc., all have strict development standards. Beware of those who tout "individual property rights" because that usually translates into"let's destroy the zoning and make this place look like the rest Los Angeles County". Experience has taught me that those people usually want no controls on their development, but want to tell everyone else what to do. The future of this community depends upon you. It is your choice to make. But, I can assure you, I will always be there when I feel the community we first envisioned is in trouble...................

See the January 2001 Sunset Magazine article about La Habra Heights

Republic

Our Country is a "republic", from Latin "res publica" - public thing.

It is up to each of us to learn about what your governments are doing, and be involved.

It is important for everyone to know their rights to participate in and find out about their governments activities. Find out the facts:

The Brown Act, also known as the "Open Meeting Law" or Anti-Corruption Act

The Public Records Act, another good Records Act link

"The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist they may retain control over the instruments they have created."

Preamble to the California Public Records Act

As James Madison, author of the Bill of Rights, said,

"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governers must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it is but a prologue to a tragedy or a farce, or perhaps both."

Find out what happened today in U.S. History - A Library of Congress site

Why does this even matter?.........Read these

The Declaration of Independence

The Constitution of the United States

The Bill of Rights - the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution

The Federalist Papers

See the 1990 Los Angeles Times Article about La Habra Heights