History, Housing Need Not Be in Conflict : * San Juan Capistrano’s Little Hollywood Plan Must Be Compatible With Los Rios Area

San Juan Capistrano has a magical name and plenty of history. The famous 215-year-old Mission San Juan Capistrano is an instantly recognizable landmark. Not far from it is another slice of Orange County’s past, the Los Rios Historical District, which includes the tiny Little Hollywood area in its northern section.

This community, apparently so named because it was once home to beautiful young girls whom locals called the “Hollywood stars,” has maintained an appealing rural ambience amid sycamores, jacarandas and pepper trees. This atmosphere of open space and an earlier time has been preserved despite all the growth and change around it in recent years.

But inevitable change lies just ahead for Little Hollywood. The question before San Juan Capistrano now is what shape it will take. With due respect for history, it ought to be possible to meet some housing demands of the late 20th Century while still preserving some of the past.

There are 13 houses in Little Hollywood; some houses in the historical district go back to the early days of the mission. But modern times are pressing in on the neighborhood. Several years back the city paid about $800,000 for two estates that make up Little Hollywood, with most of that money coming from community development funds.

There’s the rub; the city is now trying to make good on a promise to provide even more low-income housing in an area where rents paid to the city range from $125 to $275 per month--very reasonable indeed by Orange County standards.

The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency is trying to decide how many of the existing old units will be rehabilitated and how many new units will be built. Cassandra Walker, director of the agency, said Little Hollywood could accommodate 24 single-family houses.

But not all of the district’s residents are happy with the idea of building those new houses, which will cost about $60,000 each. They worry about who will move in and how the area will change.

To its credit, the city is proceeding with due respect for the existing ambience. City Historian Pamela Gibson, for example, offers the sensible suggestion that the city rehabilitate as many of the old houses as it can, while ensuring that new units are replicas.

Those decisions are still being worked out. But if done right, the goals of respecting a neighborhood’s atmosphere and past while providing more low-income housing units can both be met.