Developers’ Role in Orange County

There’s a fundamental problem in Orange County--a problem of government, or lack of government.

Orange County made the cover of National Geographic many years ago, and was touted as a Nirvana, an Eden, a place to grow and dream. Would anyone today describe this smoggy, overdeveloped mess of 29 “cities” in such terms? What happened?

The answer lies in what did not happen. Government, the bane of the conservative Republican, did not happen. A “hands-off” approach to supposedly wise and friendly private enterprise led to the developer as the arbiter of public good. In the meantime, the “leaders” of our communities found sustenance in following the good advice of those who would build for private profit at the neglect of public benefit.

In cities as widespread as New York, San Francisco, Toronto, London, Paris, Tokyo and Cairo (yes, Cairo), there exist marvelous examples of city, county and state cooperation in the development of mass transit systems--subways, streetcars, buses--all part of infrastructures built to move people from office to home and back with speed and efficiency. And what are we offered, never mind promised? Privately owned light rails from A to B, no coordination or improvement of a woeful, almost negligible bus system, no thought of tying in a transit system with the two counties that most impact the freeways of this county, but joy upon joy! . . . a line from Anaheim to Vegas. Just what is going on here?

Well, here in Orange County, the developer wields the power, its ossified “leaders” forgo the opportunity to lead, “government” is a bad word and the population is stunned, apathetic, illiterate or part of the system.

D.I. COULSON

Orange