LAUREN CONRAD'S neighbors SPEAK OUT!

Watching The Hills drama unfold on TV may be a guilty pleasure, but watching it live in your neighborhood can be downright annoying. Radar visited Los Angeles recently and chatted up some of Lauren Conrad's neighbors, and it seems few are happy about living near LC's new $2.3-million digs. Some neighbors are so displeased that they've brought up zoning issues concerning the legality of Audrina's guest house. Neighborhood residents we spoke to also complained of paparazzi violence, dangerous traffic, vandalism, production-vehicle parking violations, and the interruption of Internet service for as long as 72 hours when MTV wirelessly transmits the show as they shoot. MTV and the city of Los Angeles have offered up some solutions, and Daddy Conrad has stepped in to help, but residents say they're not doing enough.

One neighbor, who has lived on the block for 10 years and asked to remain anonymous, said things were often worse when they weren't filming, when it was just the paparrazi loitering. In a meeting held between the neighbors, MTV, and Ms. Conrad, LC claimed she didn't care to have the paps around, either, according to the doubtful, celebrity-savvy neighbor: "[Conrad] has her own clothing line to promote, and it's good for her for them to take pictures of her walking out of the house wearing whatever." (The clothing line in question isn't doing so well.)


The neighbor continued, saying, "they're running a soundstage over here." Before Conrad moved into the house, she claimed MTV spent several noisy months heavily renovating it, adding at least two lighting grids in order to make every staged roommate-moment look like a glamour shot. "MTV keeps saying they're going to end in October, that this is going to be the end," she said, "but we don't have it in writing." The City of Los Angeles hasn't been very helpful in reigning in The Hills production, continuing to issue shooting permits but no parking tickets. "We just can't imagine why the city isn't being more helpful. All we can imagine is that they're very friendly with MTV," the neighbor said, which, given the show's popularity and the regular sums the city receives for its permits, makes perfect sense.


We also talked to a retired cop, who sat with his motorcycle on the street should there be any disputes (though he did admit to us that he was paid by the production company and couldn't actually issue any citations). A Los Angeles Times photographer waited, too, ready for drama. A "homes of the stars" tour vehicle passed by, probably the tenth one of the day, according to the rent-a-cop.


Another unhappy neighbor, who also spoke under conditions of anonymity with a near mafia-like fear of MTV, complained of knife fights between paps and loud parties. "We haven't been able to enjoy our homes or our neighborhood because of the show and the paparazzi," she said, lining up the neighborhood's talking points: "We want some attention paid to the permits. We don't want production crews parked in front of our homes all the time or our Internet blocked when they film." Both complaining neighbors said they worked in the entertainment industry and were usually quite friendly to the frequent filming in their neighborhood, but that MTV was bucking regulations, overstaying their welcome, and not showing standard courtesies—like donating to the home owner's association.


Of course, at the far end of the block there was one guy who said he didn't have a problem with the filming. A middle-aged man, who answered the door shirtless, said of the shooting, "I love it! I work in the entertainment industry. It's one of the prices you pay to live in this part of the world." Asked if he saw the girls around much, he noted: "I wouldn't know who they are."
The city of Los Angeles and MTV did not reply to a request for comment.