LOS ALAMITOS : Problems of Growth Targeted by Mayor

Working with surrounding cities to manage growth and coping with a declining sales tax base will be the key issues facing Los Alamitos in the year ahead, according to Mayor Robert P. Wahlstrom.

While little undeveloped land remains in the city, problems associated with growth such as traffic and air quality are the key concerns as 1990 begins, according to Wahlstrom.

“It is more of a regional thing than a local thing,” he said. “We have to work with the various communities around us to solve these problems. We can’t combat traffic and pollution alone.”

Los Alamitos has a formal agreement with neighboring Cypress that it be notified when any major development--defined as anything of one acre or more--is planned. Wahlstrom said he would like to see more such cooperative efforts.

Congestion on Katella and Cerritos avenues and Los Alamitos Boulevard will continue to be a concern in 1990, he said.

To that end, the city will continue to work closely with the county in its plans to turn Katella Avenue into a “super street,” according to Wahlstrom. It will be upgraded in the coming years with synchronized signals, bus turnouts, dual left-turn lane pockets, fewer driveways and possibly no on-street parking.

The decrease in sales tax revenue, a major source of money for the city, this past year also has the city casting a wary eye toward the future, he said.

“It slipped last year, and of course the cost of maintaining the city is always increasing,” he said. “We still have a balanced budget, but this is something we definitely will be watching.”

If money is available come the midyear budget review sessions in January, there are three specific projects “on the council’s wish list,” Wahlstrom said. They are the installation of a traffic signal in front of Los Alamitos High School, building restrooms at Little Cottonwood Park and remodeling the youth center.