CLIPBOARD

It’s hard to say which came first, the apartments and trailers or the freeways, but this northwest area of Tustin could almost be cut out of a transportation map. The Santa Fe Railroad tracks carve access through the southwest corner; the Santa Ana Freeway lops off the northeastern corner, and the Costa Mesa Freeway claims the eastern border.

But these surrounding freeways may be a double-edged sword, providing convenience to residents, but also unwanted access to the neighborhood by outsiders.

In 1990, there were 87 vehicle thefts, 233 vehicle burglaries and 50 residential burglaries in this area of west Tustin, according to Mike Velko, resources officer of the Tustin Police Department.

“Any time you have apartment complexes you have public access, and a gate in and of itself doesn’t necessarily make it crime-proof,” Velko said. “(You) can only hope it might deter criminal activity.”

“The number of vehicle burglaries would be a concern for an apartment complex manager but is not extremely high,” observed Velko. One way to cope is to form a Neighborhood Watch tailored to residents’ needs and concerns, he said.

Just such a group exists, on Main Street between Lyons and Williams streets, to protect the Saddleback mobile home park and the Park Place apartments.

The general concerns of a neighborhood that includes apartment complexes and trailer parks, he said, are auto theft, the protection of cars in carports and security to apartments while residents are at work during the day.

The recommendations that police officers give for greater protection are improved locks, proper lighting and contact with neighbors.

“We try to address the special problem areas as best we can,” Velko said. “We try to get out there, driving through in patrol cars. But we can’t stop every person on the street. If someone’s loitering around some cars, we’ll stop them.”

The number of “for rent” signs in the area--at least six within a two-block range--suggest a high vacancy rate in the area, or at least a high turnover rate. In fact, statistics show that its population dipped in the past decade, slipping 1.9% since 1980.

This community remains very much alive, however. There is street life, with people walking home from grocery stores on McFadden Street or waiting at the bus stops. And apartment complexes make their offerings prominently known. Enticing billboard messages are posted on Lyon Street just outside the western edge of Tustin in Santa Ana: Lyon Villa Townhomes offer two- to three-bedroom units with two full baths, a spa, dishwasher, microwave oven, central air and covered parking.

Residents at both the Holiday Garden Apartments on Tustin Village Way and El Presidio at 16661 McFadden St. describe their communities as “quiet.” And against the statistical trend of departures, some residents at Holiday Garden Apartments have been living there for 20 years.

Two mobile home parks--Saddleback and Tustin Village II--make alternatives to apartment living possible in this area of Tustin.

Yet apartments, mobile homes and crime are hardly the sole points of interest within this community. The Orange County Board of Education has chosen the Robert P. Heideman Elementary School at 15571 Williams St. to integrate children with special educational needs into the school system.

Heideman School was built in 1969 with 15 classrooms. But “as enrollment grew, they added the portables (classrooms)” as a separate building, said Tustin Unified School District Supt. David L. Andrews.

An expansion project to add another 12 classrooms, funded by the state at an estimated cost of $3 million, is under way at the Heideman School.

The Tustin Unified School District will share the use of classrooms in the new elementary school building with the County Board of Education, for the latter’s own severely handicapped children’s program. When the new buildings are completed, 50 special-education students will be integrated with the 470 students now registered at the school.

The building should be ready for occupancy in September. When construction is completed, Assistant Supt. Hollis Griffin said, it will simply be called the Robert P. Heideman School, but will be educating two different groups of children.

Population Total: (1990 est.) 6,142 1980-90 change: -1.9% Median Age: 26.9

Racial/ethnic mix: White (non-Latino): 67% Latino: 13% Black: 8% Other: 12%

By sex and age: MALES Median age: 26.7 years FEMALES Median age: 27.1 years

Income Per capita: $17,470 Median household: $27,828 Average household: $31,247

Income Distribution: Less than $25,000: 43% $25,000-49,999: 45% $50,000-74,999: 9% $75,000-$99,999: 2% $100,000 and more: 1%