The mailing address may read “Los Alamitos”...

The mailing address may read “Los Alamitos” or “Seal Beach,” but this particular neighborhood is all Rossmoor.

The unincorporated community of Rossmoor is precariously snuggled between Seal Beach and Los Alamitos and nestled between public and private interests. Through it all, though, Rossmoor has hung onto its identity with the Yankee Doodle intensity of a small entity that doesn’t want to be fused with its larger neighbors. And several of the political tugs-of-war have been centered on this south-end neighborhood.

One could almost subtitle the place “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” but there are no trains. There are planes, though--in this case helicopters.

Late last year, the Army Corps of Engineers considered designating south Rossmoor an “APZ”--that’s military talk for “accident potential zone.” The community sits squarely beneath the takeoff pattern for the Armed Forces Reserve Center airfield, making it an ideal candidate for a “crash zone.” The engineers withdrew their recommendation, however, when the town officials came at them in a fury, vehemently contending that kind of designation would harm prospects for new development and negatively affect property values.

As for automobiles, the community battled the county and the state for more than a decade to get sound walls constructed along the San Diego (405) and San Gabriel River (605) freeways. The decibel level from cars and trucks whizzing by, plus the irritation of stranded motorists hiking through back yards instead of to call boxes, again brought out the community activism in south Rossmoor residents. In January, they got good news: the Orange County Transportation Commission had voted to appropriate $2 million for the project.

“We fight for issues. We’re true community activists,” said Art Becker, vice president of the Rossmoor Homeowners Assn. But it’s not all hard-fought battles. There’s plenty of time for relaxing here. And the hub of activity is the Rossmoor Shopping Center. It is a major source of sales tax revenue and one of the largest entertainment venues for local residents.

It is amusing to note that the same neighborhood whose average household income is well over $67,000 yearly also boasts some of the cheapest movies in the county--the Super Saver 7 Cinemas where feature films are “$1.50 for any movie, any time.”

The movies are inexpensive, so people flock to the theater, and that increases foot traffic for the rest of the mall, which includes a butcher, a baker but no candlestick maker. There’s also a shoe repair, dry cleaners, hardware store, various clothing stores, supermarket, drugstore, a golf shop and several banks and restaurants.

Sounds kind of quiet and middle-American, but life is rarely dull in the neighborhood. From time to time, something happens to upset the area’s calmness. The bank, Marie Callender’s, the liquor store, jewelry store, a clothing store, Thrifty’s and even Baskin-Robbins have all been hit by robbers at one time or another.

There were also a couple of “scandals” at the Rossmoor Athletic Club a few years ago that had the neighborhood buzzing. In 1985, the club owner agreed to a seemingly harmless arrangement to furnish patient referrals to a diagnostic testing firm in exchange for money in the form of lease payments. Federal law, however, prohibits such arrangements in any case involving Medicare money. The owner was granted immunity and testified for federal prosecutors the following year. In 1987, a fugitive and convicted sex offender was inadvertently hired by the club to conduct a rape-prevention clinic. He was arrested without incident on a Texas warrant.

But things are fine now at the club and business is still booming. Last month, new owner Chris Dewire, who was, coincidentally, also the original owner of the club (but not involved in the aforementioned incidents), installed the first indoor “rock,” Mt. Rossmoor, in the county for enthusiasts to scale. The popular 20-foot climbing wall has already increased business.

When all is said and done, though, the quality that is most appealing about the neighborhood isn’t the shopping, the cheap seats or the walls. Neither is it the homes, with their meticulous landscaping and prices flirting with the half-million-dollar mark. Rather, it is the way in which residents who have acquired wealth and position give back to the community, especially the youth.

“A lot of the people in our community are in leadership roles and serve on boards of charitable organizations,” Becker said. “We can’t escape the world around us. We can’t remain unaffected.”

The Rossmoor Bowl, for instance, treats runaway teen-agers from the Casa Youth Shelter in Los Alamitos to a free night of bowling once a week. And in addition to fights to save trees, improve services, erect sound walls or avoid an APZ designation, the involvement extends to working with unwed mothers, to CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates), “all the way down to grad night at the local high school.”

“People are involved,” Becker said. “Moving into Rossmoor is not like sticking your head in the sand like an ostrich.”

Population: Total (1990 est.): 4,420 1980-90 change: +2.1% Median age: 39.8 Radical/ethnic mix: White (non-Latino): 90% Black: less than 1% Latino: 5% Other: 5% Income: Per capita: $27,165 Median household: $63,997 Average household: $67,424 Income distribution: $100,000-and more: 10% $75,000-99,999: 9% $50,000-74,999: 35% $25,000-49,999: 30% Less than $25,000: 16% By sex and age: in hundreds Males: Median age: 38.1 years Females: Median age: 41.3 years