FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Community Feels Slighted by City

Residents of the North Tiburon community recently complained that the city is neglecting their area, a situation that has some people fearing for their safety and property values.

The residents told the City Council that Orange County Transit District buses often park on Lilac Avenue, transients have started sleeping on greenbelts and graffiti is appearing in a shopping area.

North Tiburon is a 144-unit townhouse tract at Edinger Avenue and Harbor Boulevard, next to the Builders Square center. Although past problems have been handled by the North Tiburon Homeowners Assn., residents believe the city should take a more active role.

“We feel like an extension of Santa Ana and not a part of Fountain Valley,” said homeowner Gene Kuelman, who presented council members with a petition bearing the signatures of nearly 100 unhappy residents.

Residents acknowledge that OCTD, not the city, is responsible for the bus problems, but added that OCTD’s previous efforts to remedy the solution have been short-lived.

“Once (OCTD) stops monitoring the bus, it starts stopping back on Lilac,” said resident Mark McCord. “It’s a chronic problem.”

OCTD spokeswoman Mona Ziada said Lilac Avenue is part of a regular route but that buses should not be parking on the street. Drivers have been warned, she said, adding that alternate routes are being researched.

There have also been complaints about transients and prostitutes wandering into the neighborhood off Harbor Boulevard.

McCord said he found a transient sleeping on his front lawn one morning, and another transient was found living on a secluded greenbelt within the tract. Earlier this year, the children’s fort on the playground had to be removed because prostitutes were using it and leaving condoms behind, he said.

Police Lt. Dave Brokaw said the department is not aware of any problems in the area, adding that officers have “always kept a pretty good profile in North Tiburon and will continue to do so.”