MISSION VIEJO : Aegean Hills Area Adjusts to City Life

Their mail is still marked with a Mission Viejo address, but now it’s more than just a convenience for the post office. Aegean Hills residents are formally part of the city.

With the annexation of the community of 7,000, the population of Mission Viejo has grown to 82,000.

So far, the transition that began Jan. 1 has been smooth for the new city residents, who live in an area adjoining Mission Viejo that is roughly bordered by Interstate 5, La Paz Road, Los Alisos Boulevard and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. And city officials say they will likely see little difference in their day-to-day lives.

For example, the garbage hauler who visits Aegean Hills once a week is the same firm doing business in Mission Viejo. The same is true for services provided by the police and fire departments and private service companies used by the city.

“In nearly all cases we just took over existing contracts from the same people doing the job in Aegean Hills,” Assistant City Manager Dan Joseph said.

But residents will notice a difference when it comes time to call on their local government officials. “Instead of driving to Santa Ana (the county seat) to submit plans for a room addition or a dog license, they just go over to City Hall,” Joseph said. “It’s only when you want government that you feel its presence.”

What the city gets is a small, triangular-shaped stretch of land loaded with tax revenue-producing businesses.

Anxious for Mission Viejo to receive tax revenues as soon as possible, the city staff rushed through annexation paperwork by a Dec. 31 deadline.

The annexation ends several years of controversy over whether to add Aegean Hills to Mission Viejo. Former Councilman Robert A. Curtis pushed hard for the annexation in 1987 and was served with recall papers for his efforts. Curtis survived the recall and, as one of his last official acts as councilman last month, introduced the ordinance to approve the annexation.