Rapid Growth and Its Challenges : Congestion, Clean Air, Water and Affordable Housing All Have to Be Dealt With

More than two million people now call Orange County home, according to preliminary census figures. Think of the change in the past decade.

And what a challenge the county has in the decade ahead, coping with the growth that has taken place already and managing the growth that is still to come as people continue moving in.

The county turns out to have precisely the same population-growth rate over the past decade, 24%, as the state at large. Interestingly enough, it has many of the same problems too. Among them: how to manage precious resources, how to keep the air from being poisoned, how to ease congested roads and how to provide housing and services that make the place livable.

Is the county up to the challenge? Tight budgets and a lack of political will already make it difficult for the county to reach consensus on important questions such as jail space, health-care services and controlling development. But if these questions cannot be addressed adequately, the county will risk losing a competitive advantage that has made Orange County so desirable in the first place. So the stakes are high.

Santa Ana has taken its place as the most populated city in the county, surpassing Anaheim. It is a visible symbol of a county much changed from the old stereotypes of a suburban, all-white enclave. Santa Ana today is alive with different ethnic groups and languages, and while it has its share of problems associated with urban life, it increasingly has a positive, self-confident image.

And what changes in other communities: Yorba Linda was once so far off the beaten path that former President Richard M. Nixon quipped at the dedication of his library this summer that “It’s a long way from Yorba Linda to the White House.” But that city grew a whopping 84% in the last decade, claiming a prominent place on the suburban map.

Irvine, a national model for planned communities, has grown a remarkable 77% in the past decade and embodies many of the county’s biggest challenges for managing growth while providing places for people to live and work. San Clemente’s 50% growth typified the burgeoning development of the South County, and the challenges there for managing problems of development and scarce resources, such as water. Largely because of growth in the South County, Orange County may be in line for another congressional seat.

These are all big changes. We are a diverse county, full of challenges and opportunities for the decade ahead.