ORANGE COUNTY ‘87: a Look Ahead : GROWTH : Struggle Over Development Tops Agenda

The intense development of Orange County, a dominant story in 1986, will continue to lead the news in 1987. As before, growth issues will be inextricably linked to fights over transportation, taxes and even education.

Ralph B. Clark, who is retiring as chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, predicted that “the fight to balance land-use decisions and transportation issues” will be a major story in the year ahead.

Supervisor Bruce Nestande agreed, including in his list of top issues joint arrangements between the county and cities on land use, growth and transportation.

Nestande, who will replace Clark as board chairman, instigated new county rules in December that require developers who want to build in the unincorporated area around El Toro to construct roads or expand existing ones as a condition for getting approval for their proposals.

It was an unusual move in a county best known for its rapid development. But encouraged by several 1986 victories, slow-growth advocates now are considering a bid to qualify a countywide ballot measure to limit growth.

Growth and how to handle it will be the issue from San Clemente to Huntington Beach as 1987 brings efforts to incorporate, redevelop or do battle with developers.

In South County, groups in Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, Mission Viejo and Capistrano Beach are trying to form cities in their unincorporated communities and may vote for cityhood next November. In Laguna Beach, officials hope to devise a plan to slow the spread of tourist-oriented businesses downtown.

In Newport Beach, slow-growth advocates are monitoring the Irvine Co. in case it tries to complete a $300-million expansion of Newport Center on a project-by-project basis. Voters this fall rejected its massive plan for homes, roads and three office towers.

The Irvine City Council’s slow-growth majority will oppose major new office complexes in 1987, arguing that environmental studies incorrectly assumed new freeways would materialize soon to handle traffic.

In Huntington Beach, residents are hoping to prevent overdevelopment in their city of 180,000 and recently formed Huntington Beach Tomorrow to achieve that goal. And in Costa Mesa, the council will be dealing with a proposal by developer C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, which wants to build a high-rise complex near the San Diego Freeway.

At a time when freeway congestion remains a major feature of the county landscape, routes for the new Foothill and Eastern freeways in south county will be selected. Elsewhere, Beach Boulevard will be turned into a “super street” to speed up traffic, and new lanes will be added to sections of the San Diego, Santa Ana and Orange freeways.

The congestion problem is seen as so urgent, however, that some county officials say they will draft a new sales tax-transportation package in 1987 to present to voters the following year, despite previous electoral failures.

The struggle to ease transportation problems will also include John Wayne Airport, where expansion will begin in 1987. The $340-million project will get under way with the relocation of some buildings and an airplane parking area to make way for a new passenger terminal, scheduled to open in 1990.

Meanwhile, county officials will select one of two rival coalitions of residents, business leaders and community activists to find a new regional airport site.

Another major issue confronting the county--the influx of undocumented aliens--has become a growth story of its own. Some officials say Santa Ana may surpass Anaheim as the county’s largest city in 1987 as undocumented residents swell the population to 250,000. Spurred by the arrival of thousands of new schoolchildren, the Santa Ana Unified School District has embarked on a controversial plan to build 11 elementary schools, two high schools and expand Santa Ana High School.