Countywide : High Cost May Curb New Street Names

Developers sometimes like to change the names of county streets to match their personal vision: When Costa Mesa-based EPAC Development bought a section of Aliso Viejo, for instance, it quickly came up with names that matched the performing arts theme of its 186-home community “Applause.”

One street was named Intermission, another simply Drama. The county approved the names, and area maps were altered accordingly.

The county likes to comply with such requests. Trouble is, street-name changes cost a bundle.

In fact, Orange County taxpayers spent more than $62,000 putting up new signs, relabeling maps and permits, and shifting addresses last year. Developers repaid a portion of it, but the taxpayers still got stuck with a bill for $38,064, more than it costs to put a new sheriff’s deputy on the streets.

It’s an irritating way for the county to lose money, officials say, and the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to stem the tide by raising fees for the service. A street-name change that once cost a developer $476 will now cost $1,255.

“I’m cheap,” Board Chairman Don R. Roth explained after the meeting. “We’re not trying to make any money on this, but we do need to stay even, and these programs have to pay for themselves.”

The board is particularly sensitive to programs that are not paying for themselves, Roth added, because budget season is approaching and the county will face a significant deficit unless new sources of revenue can be identified.

“This is an area where there’s a cost to the taxpayers, and they shouldn’t have to be paying it,” Roth said. “We’re always looking to deal with those.”

For the quirky and eclectic batch of Orange County street names--Oakie Dokie Lane and Hunky Dory Lane come together near Trabuco Canyon, for instance--the new fees just make it more unlikely that anyone will tamper with history.

And in Applause, the new names, along with the theater theme, are there to stay.

“We’ve had this theme from the very beginning, and we’re very excited about it,” EPAC marketing director Sandra Dunkin said. “We just opened our models--there’s a Swan Lake and an Elton John and a Chorus Line.”