Trouble in a seniors paradise

SEAL BEACH, Calif. -- The weather is lovely and the golf above par. But all is not well at Leisure World, one of the nation's first and biggest retirement communities.

For nearly two years now, a few dissident members have been demanding that the community's management company open its books and show exactly how it spends millions in resident fees. Not everyone inside this gated slice of coastal Southern California is happy about the dispute.

Some senior citizens angrily refer to the dozen or so activists as crackpots and say their lawsuits, their picketing, their letter-writing, and their hell-raising at community meetings have tainted a retirement otherwise blissfully free of the hassles of the outside world.

After all, that is why the residents, average age 78, pay up to $425,000 for Leisure World apartments surrounded by a wall with only two gates, where security guards in white gloves stand sentinel. Inside are six clubhouses with shuffleboard, lawn bowling, and woodworking and art studios. There are also weekend dances and a 2,500-seat amphitheater.

About 9,000 residents pay the Golden Rain Foundation, the company that oversees Leisure World, a monthly fee of $105 per unit, as well as a one-time, move-in membership fee of up to $1,300. The money goes toward such things as maintenance and landscaping of the 533-acre property.

The activists first tried in February 2004 to examine the financial records of the Golden Rain Foundation, contending that it must comply with a recent state law requiring financial transparency from homeowners associations. Golden Rain argues that the rules do not apply because it is a nonprofit management consultant hired by Leisure World's 16 self-governed resident associations.

Small-claims judges have consistently ruled in favor of the dissidents, slapping Golden Rain with about $3,000 in fines and forcing it to open many of its records. The activists are pressing for more information. The case was recently elevated into Superior Court, with a ruling expected by January.

The dissidents said that at first, they just wanted to know how their money was being spent.

But Golden Rain is fighting back so hard that they have come to suspect that it is trying to hide financial improprieties.