CLIPBOARD

While Disneyland may be “the happiest place on earth,” a neighborhood tucked away a little south of the theme park could well be the most diverse.

Surrounded by motels and busy streets, south central Anaheim is a aggregate of houses, apartments and the convention center. Yet the area has the flavor of an established segment of the city. Most of the homes, which were built in the late 1950s, share a simple floor plan and A-frame design. While these are not huge rambling estates, the modest housing has provided homeowners a distinct feeling of pride.

“I moved here the year after Disneyland opened,” said Emil Schoening. “For 30 years, I commuted to Los Angeles. Now that I’m retired, I have no reason to sell my house and start over. I’d have to leave the state to find a home comparable to this one in size and value.”

Schoening and his wife, Florence, were originally drawn to the haven-like atmosphere of an undeveloped area. But that only lasted one year.

“At first, there were only 38 houses built,” Schoening said. “The rest of the land was orange groves. Being from Long Beach, we found the area to be very rural.”

However, as Disneyland became more popular, the area surrounding the small housing tract became more crowded as well. Houses fell for apartment buildings. Orange groves gave way to motels.

For years, the Schoening family gathered with neighbors on Lamark Drive to partake in the evening’s fireworks display provided by Disneyland. “After a while, we tired of watching the fireworks,” he said. “It doesn’t matter though, we can’t even see the displays since the Marriott hotel was built.”

While most area homeowners might have opposed the towering hotel, Schoening said the real thorns in their sides are the small motels in the area.

“All up and down Harbor Boulevard, there are prostitutes,” Schoening said. “Over the years, the situation has gotten increasingly worse. The small motels simply create a place to conduct business. That situation wouldn’t exist in the nice hotels.”

Along with those demands, Schoening wants too see a cleaner, more aesthetically pleasing version of Harbor Boulevard. The Walt Disney Co. could not agree more.

The company is working with the city of Anaheim to define an agreement that would transform the neon-sign streets into a lush, palm tree-lined thoroughfare. When completed, the renovation project would include three new hotels on West Street, which would be renamed Disneyland Drive. While the cost of such a project is staggering, neither city nor Disney officials are able to estimate the final tab.

In the past year, Disney has acquired a great deal of land in Anaheim. Included in its new holdings is a 23-acre former mobile home park off Katella Avenue bordering a piece of land that developers, especially Disney officials, covet.

If there is a thorn in the side of Disney’s multibillion dollar dreams of renovation and expansion, that thorn is named Hiroshi Fujishige. Since the early 1950s, the Fujishige family has grown strawberries on a 58-acre plot of prime acreage just south of Disneyland and that is where the family intends to stay . . . at least for now.

Earlier this year, a top-level Disney officer met with family members to discuss a possible price for the farmland.

“I told them that it was not for sale or lease, not right now,” Fujishige said. “Maybe in another three or four years it will be a different story. “

The 68-year old Fujishige said he rejected a $32-million dollar offer Disney made to lease the farmland as too low. In another three years, when Fujishige is ready to retire, he estimates that the property might be worth “double.”

“They have a lot of land to develop yet,” the strawberry farmer said, referring to Disney’s property acquisitions in the neighborhood. “I don’t want to hurt Disney, but shucks, I still have kids in school.”

In his attitude, Fujishige reflects the general makeup of the neighborhood’s residents. The homeowners share an established, safe neighborhood and are not interested in moving. While some of the homes have changed to rentals, a large number of retired and semi-retired people remain in the area.

“I retired in 1988,” Emil Schoening said. “Now, for a little extra cash, I work part time at the convention center.”

Splitting the tract in half, the Anaheim Convention Center is another huge draw to south central Anaheim. The dome-like structure sits on land originally owned by rancher John Rea, and was the site of the Katella School, built in 1913. The name Katella is a combination of the names of Rea’s two daughters, Kate and Ella. The Katella School District was absorbed by the Anaheim School District in 1954, and the school was torn down to make way for development.

Disney’s plans for renovation in the area would include planting a line of palm trees along the convention center’s main thoroughfare, Convention Way. Since opening in 1967, the center has expanded to 835,000 square feet and is able to accommodate several groups at once.

While residents are supportive of the growth their neighborhood has seen over the decades, some are concerned that the Disney plans to renovate the area would have an overall adverse effect on their quiet streets. Bringing even more tourists to the area means more cars and more traffic. But Emil Schoening offered this advice: “Don’t leave the house when Disneyland is opening, and don’t try to go home when the theme park has just closed,” he said. “That’s our rule of thumb. “

For families such as the Schoenings, who raised their children in a quiet segment of what could be considered the most crowded place in Orange County, or for longtime farmer Hiroshi Fujishige, who has placed his bets in the real estate prices of Tomorrow Land, south central Anaheim has proven to be among the most desirable neighborhoods in Orange County.

Population Total: (1990) 5,789 1980-90 change: +13.0% Median Age: 32.3

Racial/ethnic mix: White (non-Latino): 54% Latino: 34% Asian: 7% Black: 4% Other: 1%

By sex and age: MALES Median age: 31.2 years FEMALES Median age: 33.4 years

Income Per capita: $18,266 Median household: $49,033 Average household: $55,026

Income Distribution: Less than $25,000: 23% $25,000-49,999: 28% $50,000-74,999: 25% $75,000-$99,999: 13% $100,000 and more: 11%