2 Communities Take Greatly Differing Paths : In Redlands, Restraint, Tradition Mark Approach to ‘Quality Growth’

While most Inland Empire communities have been clamoring for new commerce and industry of almost any kind, the city of Redlands spent several weeks last spring debating whether or not to allow a 10-room “bed-and-breakfast” operation in one of the city’s beloved Victorian mansions. This is typical of Redlands, where restraint and tradition still seem to play an important part in city life.

The wealthy Easterners and Midwesterners who settled in Redlands in the late 1800s “didn’t need to make money--they already had it,” said Larry Burgess, the city archivist.

They built the Victorian mansions, dabbled in the arts and wrote such articles as “The Aesthetics of Orange Growing” for agricultural magazines.

Some of that spirit remains.

Redlands abounds in arts organizations--a symphony orchestra, a ballet company, an active art association and several theatrical groups.

There are summer concerts at the Redlands Bowl. In the fall, winter and spring there is a full schedule of cultural events at the University of Redlands.

The “Fortnightly Club” meets every other Thursday to present and discuss original papers on topics ranging from an analysis of the American welfare system to the growing of kiwi fruit in Southern California.

Like most of its Inland Empire neighbors, Redlands has been growing--from 36,300 people in 1970 to about 50,000 now--but the growth has not been accompanied by the beating of promotional drums or the waving of real estate banners.

“The town has wanted to maintain a quality residential atmosphere,” said City Manager John Holmes, something that is easier to do when the average price of a home is $110,000.

In 1978, Redlands acquired a “no growth” reputation when voters approved Proposition R, which limited new residential units to 450 a year, and elected two no-growth candidates to the City Council.

This followed a year when nearly 1,000 new units were built and “people had a vision of us becoming another Orange County,” Mayor Carole Beswick said.

Pursuing Quality

But four years later, one of the no-growth council members was defeated, another chose not to seek reelection and the council now is pursuing what Beswick calls “quality growth.”

“There’s the sense that we don’t want to end up with just rooftops,” she said. “We’d like to have some green and some space.”

The city has embarked on a $3-million downtown redevelopment project that will provide more parking and sewage facilities but also will preserve several important historical buildings.

Street lights, benches, even trash receptacles will reflect a historical theme.

Burgess, the city archivist, recently led a walking tour through the area and said, “One-hundred years ago we had old-fashioned streets and lights and now we’re paying millions to have them again.”

‘A Special Place’

The new City Council is cautiously seeking new industry, but again, in a distinctive Redlands manner.

“We’d like to be approachable,” Beswick said, “But we want people who do the kind of work that’s acceptable to us, people who understand that this is a special place.”

The city’s idea of a nifty industry is Mission Aviation, a large flying missionary service based at Redlands Airport.

Can Redlands remain an enclave of gentility in the midst of booming San Bernardino County, a sort of civic Blanche duBois menaced by the county’s Stanley Kowalski?

“Redlands still is trying to hold on to the California dream”--that the good and prosperous life can be lived without too much hassle, Burgess said. “That may be naive . . . but I think there has been an effort to retain some of that early spirit and, so far, I think it has been reasonably successful.”

REDLANDS Incorporated 1888 Size 26 square miles Population 49,950 Median household income $22,100 Taxable sales $319,229,800 (1985-85 fiscal year) New residential units, 1984 709