Connecting 2 Streets Amid a Greenbelt

Walt Disney built us a working model of how we should have developed this area, but we didn’t see it. Instead, we followed those blinded by dreams of wealth. We sold paradise much too cheaply.

Look at the city of Orange. As if it were still the ‘50s, this city is grinding up the hills and allowing projects sure to leave the very heart of the county snarled and gridlocked.

Orange officials are trying to railroad a general plan amendment through that would connect Batavia and Riverdale avenues through the middle of a greenbelt and a quiet residential area. They’re trying to do this without even talking to the people who would be devastated.

Once the road goes through, the R.J. Noble gravel pit will be accessible for development. The pit has been master-planned for decades as a lake and open space. The owner wants zoning that will allow industrial use instead. All this on top of the beautiful trail and recreation area along the Santa Ana River.

The most infuriating part is that the citizens in this area rose up by the hundreds and stopped this very plan 2 years ago. Seems Orange officials have short memories or think we’re brain-dead.

I wonder if Orange’s mayor, Don E. Smith, remembers what April was like when the citrus trees bloomed? After all, he’s been on the council since Orange was a marvelous place to live and was paradise around a plaza. I know he likes flowers. He sent me a packet of forget-me-not seeds when he was running for mayor last time. “The best bloomin’ mayoral candidate in town,” the packet said.

Now I haven’t planted those seeds yet, but I have a great spot in mind. I’m putting a little garden of the mayor’s flowers right in the path of that road they think they’re putting through our greenbelt.

WILLIAM E. GANN

Orange