FOCUS : Balboa Is an Island of Small-Town Ease

There is a four-letter word that perfectly describes Balboa Island. Cute. After all, any community that uses a tiny fleet of ferryboats to help transport its residents to and from work deserves the kind of moniker usually reserved for tabby kittens and pudgy babies. Quaint shops crowd Marine Avenue, selling everything from frozen bananas to lacy European lingerie, and the corner market displays its fruits and vegetables in the open air. Even the pint-size fire station is cute--red Spanish tile roof gleaming in the sun.

Leaving the shops and businesses of Marine Avenue behind, the residential streets take on names such as Diamond and Sapphire, Ruby and Topaz--aptly named addresses for some very valuable real estate. The island’s first lot was purchased in 1908 for $700--waterfront property that was considered a marginal investment because of flooding fears. Scornful of those early island residents, the first mayor of Newport Beach went so far as to grumble, “The land was sold by a lot of damned crooks to a lot of darn fools.”

Today, the average home on a 30-by-85-foot lot sells for $600,000.

What many homes here lack in size, they make up for in charm and individuality. Little touches, such as that hand-painted mailbox, a vivid stained-glass window or a ship’s life preserver swinging nonchalantly from a balcony rail, make the homes here seem very personal.

In the 80 years since that “fool” bought the first oceanfront property, a steady stream of people has forsaken the mainland for a different life style. Such notable residents as Hollywood stars Dorothy Lamour, Ruby Keeler and Buddy Ebsen have come and gone, but more anonymous islanders tend to stay and stay . . . and stay.

Many of the year-round residents will tell you that the island is a safe place, a friendly place, a place of little pretension.

Hersheys Market, the island’s long-time purveyor of quality food and all-around meeting place, will not only deliver groceries to your door--they’ll put them away for you, too.

A few years ago a little boy moved to the island with his family and was told by a neighbor that he would no longer have just one mother--he would have 150.

High-profile executives, lifeguards and retirees, all card-carrying members of the Do-Dads Club, meet early every morning at Dad’s Donut Shop & Bakery to shoot the breeze before the start of a new day.

Comparisons between life on Balboa Island and life as it is lived in small, out-of-the-way towns are often made by longtime residents, but the advantages of such a life style don’t come without a price. The island lacks a barber shop, hardware store and large grocery store. There is no dry cleaner or shoe repair shop. The only gas station is closing--not enough gasoline being pumped to justify its existence.

But for most of the residents of this tiny and, yes, cute community, these little inconveniences are a bargain price to pay.

Population Population: (1988 est.) 3,728 1980-88 change: -0.1% Median Age: 33.5

Racial/ethnic mix: White: (non-Hispanic) 94% Hispanic: 3% Other: 3% Black: Less than 1%

By sex and age: MALES: Median age: 34.4 years FEMALES: Median age: 32.8 years

Income Per capita: $23,184 Median Household: $36,403 Average Household: $43,036

Household Distribution: Less than $25,000: 44% $50,000-74,999: 12% $25,000-49,999: 28% More than $75,000: 16%