HERE COMES THE NEIGHBORHOOD

If you think Orange County is crowded now, just wait until the end of the century. According to projections by the county’s Forecast and Analysis Center, by the year 2000 there will be about 2.6 million residents, up from 2.2 million in 1987. The largest increases will take place in what are now unincorporated areas, expected to have an 80% jump in faces. The cities of Tustin, San Juan Capistrano, Yorba Linda, Irvine, Placentia and Mission Viejo will all see increases of more than 20%. None of those cities, though, will see a change in share of the county population except Irvine, which will grow from 4% to 5% of the county’s total. Rather, the percentage of those living in unincorporated areas will increase from 12 to 19, carrying with it the attendant implications for new cities. Here’s how the cities will change, ranked from largest increase to largest decrease (yes, some cities will experience the dreaded “negative growth”):

% of County Population % Change, Population City 1987 2000 1987-2000 in 1987 Unincorporated areas 252,605 453,630 +80 12 Tustin 43,108 61,475 +43 2 San Juan Capistrano 23,723 33,215 +40 1 Yorba Linda 42,606 56,058 +32 2 Irvine 94,135 120,081 +28 4 Placentia 39,128 47,985 +23 2 Mission Viejo 68,903 83,920 +22 3 Brea 32,949 38,774 +18 1 San Clemente 34,781 40,917 +18 2 Orange 103,272 118,305 +15 5 Anaheim 242,138 276,557 +14 11 Costa Mesa 89,908 99,428 +11 4 Cypress 42,845 46,676 +9 2 Huntington Beach 186,751 204,092 +9 9 Laguna Beach 23,311 25,307 +9 1 Los Alamitos 12,091 13,170 +9 1 Newport Beach 67,784 72,683 +7 3 Seal Beach 27,400 28,960 +6 1 Stanton 28,116 29,686 +6 1 Santa Ana 227,406 239,713 +5 10 Buena Park 65,839 67,485 +3 3 Fullerton 110,128 110,960 +1 5 Westminster 73,342 74,279 +1 3 La Palma 16,145 16,095 * 1 La Habra 48,487 48,049 -1 2 Villa Park 6,951 6,850 -1 * Garden Grove 134,136 130,829 -2 6 Fountain Valley 55,598 54,021 -3 3 COUNTYWIDE 2,193,586 2,599,200 +18 100

% of County Population City in 2000 Unincorporated areas 19 Tustin 2 San Juan Capistrano 1 Yorba Linda 2 Irvine 5 Placentia 2 Mission Viejo 3 Brea 1 San Clemente 2 Orange 4 Anaheim 11 Costa Mesa 4 Cypress 2 Huntington Beach 8 Laguna Beach 1 Los Alamitos * Newport Beach 3 Seal Beach 1 Stanton 1 Santa Ana 9 Buena Park 2 Fullerton 4 Westminster 3 La Palma 1 La Habra 2 Villa Park * Garden Grove 5 Fountain Valley 2 COUNTYWIDE 100

* Less than 1%

Source: Forecast and Analysis Center-County of Orange.