There’s Much More to the Town Than Knott’s : Buena Park: The city that offers much to tourists also appeals to residents. It even helps them buy homes.

When Daryl Chrispen bought his four-bedroom 1,500-square-foot home in Buena Park in 1986 he was returning to the neighborhood he grew up in.

“I bought my best friend’s dad’s house and it’s down the street from the one I was raised in,” he said. “My brother bought my parents’ home.”

Chrispen bought his first home in Fullerton, but after he had built up some equity he sold and returned to Buena Park. “I came back because I knew everybody here,” he said, “and it’s a quiet town with a low crime rate, and it’s close to everything. It’s a good family neighborhood.”

That’s how many of the 68,800 residents of this Orange County city feel about their community, which is also home to several major tourist attractions, the most noted being Knott’s Berry Farm.

Located in north Orange County on the border of Los Angeles County, Buena Park sits astride both the Santa Ana (5) and the Artesia (91) freeways, making for excellent commuting access to a wide area.

Chrispen moved back to Buena Park in 1986, purchasing his home for $125,000. “Houses in the tract are selling for around $200,000 in today’s market,” he said.

A real estate agent with Century 21 Advantage, he finds people are often attracted to Buena Park because of the convenient location to shopping, the beach and the major freeways, and, yes, even because of Knott’s Berry Farm. “Especially people with teen-aged children,” he said.

And while the history and growth of the city and Knott’s are somewhat intertwined, the roots of Buena Park predate what started as a berry farm by about 35 years.

In 1887, James Whittaker, who had been a wholesale grocer in Chicago before coming west, filed a plot plan consisting of a total of 690 acres to be recorded and named Buena Park, according to historian H. A. Chamberlain.

During the next 30 years the little farming community grew to about 60 homes, and by 1917 there was a volunteer fire department, a women’s club, a lumberyard, a creamery, a cannery and the Southern Counties Bank.

As Buena Park moved into the 1920s it was a growing community with a population of 2,000. This was the period that saw the birth of Knott’s Berry Farm.

Walter Knott and his partner, Jim Preston, began growing berries on 20 leased acres and set up a roadside stand to sell their fruit. Buena Park became known as a town “near Knott’s.” When in 1928 Knott wanted to buy 10 acres for $1,500 an acre, Preston bowed out of the partnership. By 1934, Knott had bought another 10 acres and was selling pies, preserves and chicken dinners, all prepared by his wife, Cordelia.

By 1952, Knott’s was getting national attention as a tourist attraction. In 1953, Buena Park, with a population of 10,211, incorporated, and housing tracts--promoted by billboards along the Santa Ana Freeway--spread throughout the city. However, to those who moved from more populated areas, this was still country.

“We moved here from Torrance in 1955,” said Barbara O’Brien. “My husband, William, and I had four small children, and we wanted to get into an area where homes were available and to use the VA loan. We paid $13,000 for a three-bedroom, two-bath home.

“I remember that when we moved here there was a cabbage patch at the end of the street,” she recalled. “There was a corn field where the main fire station is now and I had to go to Anaheim or Long Beach to shop.”

O’Brien also recalled the dairies on La Palma Avenue that primarily belonged to Dutch families. “They had big, beautiful homes, but the odor from the dairies was terrible.”

Today the cabbage patches, dairies, and corn fields are all gone, but she still considers Buena Park to be a small town. “When I go to the store I see people I know,” she said. “I wake up during the night and can’t hear a sound.”

Homes in the neighborhood where the O’Briens bought almost 40 years ago are selling in today’s market for about $200,000. And according to the figures supplied by Buena Park, Cypress, La Palma Assn. of Realtors, the average selling price of a single-family home in Buena Park in 1991 was $198,000. A condo conversion near Knott’s could be purchased for $120,000 and up. A patio home near Los Coyotes Country Club would range in price from $220,000 to $230,000.

Dona Suarez, a realtor with Century 21 Coyote Hills Properties, has been selling homes in the Los Coyotes Country Club area for 20 years. “When I first started working here the homes were going for around $50,000. Now the same house is selling for $330,000,” she said.

Homes around the golf course, which is on the northeast border of the city, afford views, and diversity in housing as well. Suarez said that an older 1,600-square-foot home might sell for about $285,000. The larger custom homes with amenities such as underground wine cellars, spas and golf course views will be priced as high as $1 million.

John Dade, an agent with Tarbell Realtors, said that on the low end, a two-bedroom, one-bath home can be purchased in Buena Park for about $145,000. “Housing is affordable in this area compared to surrounding cities,” he said.

Buena Park is also one of four Orange County cities that has a program to use redevelopment funds in assisting first-time buyers toward home ownership.

Redevelopment Housing Coordinator Claire Chacon-Hake explained that to qualify the buyer must have lived or worked in Buena Park for a period of one year, have 5% of the down payment plus closing costs and be within certain income limitations.

For a family of four with an income not exceeding $38,000 the city will lend 15% of the purchase price toward the down payment. If the income for the family does not exceed $62,030, the loan available would be 10% of the purchase price. There are no payments on the loan for the first five years; however, interest does accrue. In years six through 20 the loan is repaid at 5% simple interest. The cap on the purchase price is $208,000.

Dilip Kothary and his wife, Rashmi, were able to purchase their first home by using the assistance program. The couple and their two sons came to the United States from Kenya in 1987, moving to a rental in Buena Park. Kothary had purchased Medical Printing Service in Garden Grove, while Rashmi went to work for Bank of America in Orange and the youngsters settled into school.

“Without the assistance program I don’t think we would have been able to buy a house for a number of years,” Kothary said. “But we wanted to stay in Buena Park because we had gotten used to the area. We wanted to keep our boys in the same school system.”

They purchased a 30-year-old three-bedroom, two-bath home of 1,520 square feet for $192,000 in the summer of 1991. “It’s a nice, quiet neighborhood. And the boys can walk to school,” he said.

Jim McDonnell and his wife, Kathy, who have a preschooler, were also thinking about schools as well as the neighborhood when they purchased a 2,600-square-foot, four-bedroom home for $280,000 in the Los Coyotes area of Buena Park in 1989.

“I had been riding my bicycle through the area and I was impressed. I stopped at an open house, and we started looking at homes,” McDonnell said. He said he was satisfied with the schools and added that he talked to the Buena Park Police Department and found it was a low-crime area.

McDonnell has been pleased with how the city handles the tourist and entertainment corridor, which runs along several blocks on Beach Boulevard in the southern part of town.

There are five major attractions that bring as many as 5.5 million visitors to the area every year. This contributes important revenue to the city but also brings in people and traffic, and poses a challenge for law enforcement.

Sgt. Terry Branum, the Buena Park Police Department’s public information officer, pointed out that their enforcement efforts are directed toward two areas--residential and tourism.

“With tourism, we’re primarily dealing with stolen property,” he said. “In residential, the biggest concern is home burglary and graffiti. We have a no-tolerance graffiti policy. If it goes on, the resident or the business has 36 hours to have it removed, or the city will remove it.” He said there is some gang activity, but it is mostly of a juvenile type and not violent.

The Buena Park School District works closely with the police department to keep young people out of gangs.

“We have DARE and other programs in our district specifically designed to limit this activity in our community,” said Supt. Jack Townsend.

He said that his is a majority-minority school district. “The ethnic population in this school district this year is 59% minority, 41% Caucasian. We have extensive programs to help minority boys and girls become fluent in English.”

At a Glance Population

1991 estimate: 71,547

1980-91 change: +11.5%

Median age: 31.6 years

Annual income

Per capita: 15,670

Median household: 44,293

Household distribution

Less than $20,000: 17.7%

$20,000 - $35,000: 19.8%

$35,000 - $50,000: 20.8%

$50,000 - $75,000: 23.6%

$75,000 +: 18.1%