SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Schwartze’s 12-Year Council Stint to End

When Phillip R. Schwartze bows out after serving 12 years on the City Council in November, he will leave San Juan Capistrano without its ace behind-the-scenes player in county politics.

Schwartze, 47, has watched over the city’s interests in the region as a longtime member and former chairman of the Local Agency Formation Commission, president of the Orange County division of the League of California Cities, and member of the board of directors of the Community Housing Corp.

“Phil is an excellent planner, and that expertise has been very valuable for our city,” said Mayor Gary L. Hausdorfer. “He has recognized the need for the city to promote its interests outside of our boundaries. That’s helped San Juan Capistrano be a more effective influence on regional decisions.”

Or, as Schwartze likes to put it: “Development has been rampant in Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo and San Clemente. I wanted to make sure we didn’t become a rose in a weed patch.”

Actually, Schwartze has been well-connected since his San Fernando Valley childhood. He went to high school (Van Nuys, class of 1961) with Tom Selleck, Mike Curb and Mickey Dolenz (of the Monkees). In 1969, Schwartze and his family arrived in the then-tiny city (population 3,200) of San Juan Capistrano, where he joined the city staff as a planner. Several years later, he went to work in a similar capacity for the city of Anaheim.

In 1978, Schwartze said, he had a premonition that launched his San Juan Capistrano City Council career.

“I can’t really explain it, but I just had a feeling something would happen,” he said. “So in the last hour before the deadline, I went to City Hall and took papers out” to run for a council seat. Schwartze won the seat.

His political career peaked during his stint as chairman of LAFCO in 1987-88. It just happened to be the era when incorporation fever first hit South County.

“Once somebody claims its territory, it really gets nuts,” explained Schwartze, looking back at the time Mission Viejo, Dana Point and Laguna Niguel carved out their boundaries. It is the job of LAFCO to decide who gets what land.

“Laguna Niguel and Dana Point fought like cats and dogs,” Schwartze said. “I was getting death threats and phone calls at home late at night. People were asking me if they were going to lose their home or if their taxes were going up. LAFCO is really a thankless job.”

Today, Schwartze is content to run his consulting business and wind down his council role. He sees a shift in priorities ahead.

“I think social issues will take precedence over the land-use issues in the 1990s,” he said. “People have a handle on land-use issues, but social issues like air quality, transportation, low-income housing, water conservation . . . nobody has a handle on these issues. I think people are starting to realize these are regional issues we need to work together on.”