THE TIMES POLL : As O.C. Neighborhoods Change, Tensions Build : Ethnic makeup of many communities is shifting. Many fear the change is not always for the better.

Barbara Carothers waxed nostalgic about the days three decades back when she and her husband first moved to what she called the “little country town” of Orange.

It was a quiet, safe place, she said, where neighbors were not strangers, and the sweet scent from nearby orange groves filled the air.

A lot has changed since then.

The town has grown into a city, and Carothers has seen many of her fellow Anglos move away, often to be replaced by Latinos.

“We do have a nice family of Hispanics next door,” she said, adding that at one time the real “terror of the neighborhood” was an Arkansas family who lived across the street.

But Carothers sees the growing Latino presence as a cause of her neighborhood’s decline.

“We have heard of some drive-by shootings” not far away, she said. “We are near Santa Ana, so we think about (encroaching crime) a lot. . . . I am worried about what’s going to happen.”

The parochial school teacher’s aide has wondered whether she, too, should sell her home of 30 years and move away. But she concluded there is no place in Orange County that is absolutely safe and retains the community feel she misses.

Carothers is not alone in sensing that the racial or ethnic makeup of Orange County’s neighborhoods is changing, and in fearing that the change is not always for the better.

According to a Times Poll of 943 Orange County adult residents, almost two out of every five are witnessing the ethnic transformation of their neighborhoods, with 43% of those who see Latinos moving in viewing it as a negative development. New Asian neighbors, in contrast, are seen as undermining the quality of life by 15% of the respondents.

A wide majority say the change is having no effect at all, and 6% see things changing for the better.

“I enjoy the different cultures, and the mix is good,” said Patricia Day, 36, a Fullerton high school teacher.

Others note that a neighborhood’s reaction to newcomers has more to do with economics than race or ethnicity.

Gloria, 66, a Latina resident of La Habra who was among those interviewed in the Times Poll, said that skin color no longer seems important to most people. And she is sensitive to the issue.

Growing up in Southern California, the woman said she was involved in integrating several neighborhoods. Whenever her family prepared to move into a new area, Gloria recalled, she and her siblings would joke about how their new neighbors would soon be saying: “There goes the neighborhood.”

Now, as she sees her own neighborhood becoming more diverse, ethnicity is not a major neighborhood concern. The only things that seem important, she said, are the new neighbors’ willingness and economic ability to maintain their property.

“It would make a difference if they could not keep their property up,” said Gloria, who didn’t want her last name used. “If they parked their cars on the lawn, I think the whole neighborhood would be up in arms.”

Sixty-five percent of county residents--and an even higher percentage of whites--still report living in a “mostly white” neighborhood--more than double the 29% of Angelenos who thus described their neighborhoods in a Times Poll in 1992.

But Orange County’s ethnic mix underwent rapid change in the 1980s, when the Anglo share of the county’s total population fell from 78% to 64%--despite a modest increase in actual numbers--and the number of Latinos and Asians virtually doubled, to 23% and 10% of the population respectively. The number of blacks rose only slightly--from 1.3% to 1.6%.

Census figures show that the county’s population grew by more than six Latinos for every new Anglo during the 1980s, and the Times Poll found that this fast-growing Latino population is almost equally dispersed among mostly Latino, mostly white and ethnically mixed neighborhoods.

Asians, in contrast, are less likely to live only among themselves, with just 6% saying they reside in mostly Asian neighborhoods, and 65% in mostly white areas.

Lawrence de Graaf, a Cal State Fullerton history professor who specializes in multicultural matters, said Orange County’s acceptance of ethnically diverse neighborhoods has improved dramatically over the last quarter of a century.

Reminiscing about the situation only 25 years ago, De Graaf said, “I can recall . . . an African-American going door-to-door simply to find someone who would rent to him or sell him a house.” The 1970 Census, he said, showed there was not a single black resident in one-third of the county’s census tracts.

Although fewer think of arriving Asians negatively than they do Latinos, 15% view Asians moving in as making a neighborhood worse.

Lory Bisson is one such resident. She blames Asians for increasing crime in areas around her Fountain Valley neighborhood.

The 34-year-old corporate consultant, a lifelong Orange County resident, thought she would feel safer when she moved from Westminster to an area east of Mile Square Park three years ago.

But last year, she discontinued her pre-dawn walks with her dog near a neighborhood elementary school after hearing that the school’s janitor had been assaulted by two Asians and two blacks.

Not only did Bisson fail to find the safety she was seeking in her move, she also lost the community network she had enjoyed in Westminster. Neighbors on one side of her new home generally keep to themselves, and those on the other side are Koreans who do not speak English, she said.

Orange County, Bisson observed, “is not really one big community like it was years ago. We’d have big parties and everyone would be there. People would trade things with each other. One neighbor grew cantaloupe and watermelon and I had zucchinis. . . . It was a lot more friendly then; a lot like Ozzie and Harriet.”

Even when their immediate neighborhood is not undergoing change, some residents worry that their quality of life is threatened by the general increase in other ethnic groups.

Elizabeth O’Hearn, 72, says her mostly Anglo San Clemente neighborhood just north of Camp Pendleton remains much the same as ever, as does her lifestyle--a regular diet of golf and bridge games.

But O’Hearn says she still feels a certain uneasiness. Crime is on the upswing in her city, the scene of a highly publicized clash that left one youngster on the verge of death last week, and she assigns most of the blame to Latinos.

“I think more of the crime may be caused by minorities. It’s terrible to say so, but I think it is,” she said.

She no longer shops at a nearby market, O’Hearn added, “because it definitely caters to those people,” and she worried that her risk of becoming a crime victim was increasing there.

And she is a little irritated that a couple of neighborhood businesses have started posting signs in foreign languages for the convenience of an increasingly multiethnic clientele.

San Clemente, she regrets, “is not quite as neat and orderly as it was” when she moved there 18 years ago.

UCI economics professor Raul Fernandez said that Latinos are often looked down upon in Orange County, because they are seen as the source of many economic and social ills, such as illegal immigration and crime.

With public officials like Gov. Pete Wilson leading the charge against illegal immigration from Latin America, Fernandez said Anglos feel more at ease attacking all Latinos, whether or not they are immigrants. Listening to the rhetoric from Sacramento, he said, Anglos could easily conclude: “Look, I can say anything against Mexicans, because my governor is saying it.”

Fernandez said that because Latinos have traditionally been viewed as poor, their increasing numbers may lead longtime residents into thinking: “The neighborhood is going to hell; the Mexicans are coming in; this is becoming a working-class area, and we don’t like that.”

Even Latinos themselves are split on the impact they have had on the quality of life in Orange County, with 25% calling their presence positive, and an equal number saying it has been negative, the poll found.

“Given the current anti-immigrant atmosphere,” Times Poll director John Brennan says he sees a possible touch of irony in another of the survey’s findings. “Orange is a county of immigrants; only 16% of its adult population report they are lifelong residents.”

The poll results also challenge the widespread notion that most of the immigrants are coming directly from Mexico or abroad. Three-fourths of the Latino respondents said they were native-born citizens, as did 56% of the Asians and 88% of whites.

“The poll indicates that Los Angeles County is the most common originating point for Orange (County) residents. In fact, as many Latinos have moved in from Los Angeles as came directly from Mexico, Central or South America, and substantially more Asians have moved from L.A. than directly from Asia. Overall, 12% of Orange County residents came directly from foreign countries,” Brennan said.

Unlike older urban centers, where long-established ethnic communities serve as magnets for new arrivals, Orange County has few pockets of predominantly ethnic neighborhoods. Except for those settling in Little Saigon in Westminster, or the concentration of Latinos in Santa Ana south of Seventeenth Street, most minorities are blending in across the county.

Only one in sixteen Asians reports living in a mostly Asian neighborhood. Among Latinos, that figure is less than one in three. Nearly two out of three Asians have settled in mostly white neighborhoods, as have one out of three Latinos.

Generally, residents at the opposite extremes of the income scale voiced tougher attitudes on racial issues than middle-class residents. And Orange County’s predominantly Anglo elderly population, those over 65, stood out as the group with “substantially harder views on race relations than younger people,” Brennan found.

These elderly residents are more likely to oppose interracial marriages, bilingual education and teaching multiculturalism in schools.

“It’s something you grew up with,” Edsel Davison, 67, of Los Alamitos, said of his opposition to interracial marriages. “Maybe people are more open about that now, but I believe that in most occasions, I would not be thrilled about it.”

De Graaf said there’s generally a direct relation between a person’s age and resistance to change. “The older the person, the more likely he is to think in ethnocentric terms; a ‘nice neighborhood’ is a white neighborhood,” he said.

While almost half of young whites call race discrimination a problem in their communities, 71% of the elderly residents say it is no problem or a minor one.

The poll also found that the elderly have less interaction with minorities than younger people, by a significant margin in some instances. Thirty-seven percent of the elderly said they work or go to church or school with someone of another race, compared to almost 80% among those under 65.

In Orange, 29-year-old Frank Ochoa said he and his wife feel very much a part of their predominantly Anglo neighborhood. Born in Mexico but having spent most of his life in Orange County, the maintenance mechanic said he wants what his neighbors want: a safe community.

“I just want a drug-free environment. I don’t want to see a neighborhood where there’s guys selling drugs on the street and gangs,” Ochoa said.

The same holds true for Roger Dang, a 29-year-old aeronautical engineer, whose search for affordable housing recently brought him to Santa Ana from Long Beach. He was also seeking to escape a crime-infested area.

Life in his new ethnically mixed neighborhood is better, the Asian-American said, but he is still looking for community togetherness.

“The people down here look through you,” he said. “Nobody says ‘Hi’ to you.”

Patricia Day, the Fullerton teacher, suggested the uneasiness could be resolved with more interaction among ethnic groups.

“People get prejudiced when they don’t come in contact with people of other colors,” she said.

Times staff writer Mary Lou Pickel contributed to this story.

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Poll interviewed 943 adult residents of Orange County, by telephone, Aug. 12 through 15. Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in the county. Random-digit dialing techniques were used to ensure that both listed and unlisted numbers had an opportunity to be contacted. Results were weighted slightly to conform with census figures for sex, race, age, education and labor force participation. Asians and Latinos were over-sampled to ensure large enough samples for analysis; these groups are weighted to their proper proportions in the overall, countywide results. While the opinions of black residents were included as part of the total countywide results for the poll, the black sample in Orange County was too small to include as a separate analysis. The margin of sampling error for percentages based on the entire sample is plus or minus 4 percentage points; for sub-groups the error margin may be somewhat higher. Interviewing was conducted in English and Spanish; only those conversant in those languages were interviewed. Selected comparative results are cited from other Times polls conducted nationwide, in Southern California, Los Angeles County and the city of Los Angeles.

County’s Neighborhoods Changing

Orange County’s neighborhoods are still mostly white, much more than in Southern California generally. But they are undergoing change. Two-thirds of the county’s residents say the area where they live is mostly white. But about two in five say their neighborhoods are changing. Most say the changes have had no effect. However, a fair number say Latino arrivals have had a negative effect on their neighborhoods.

How would you describe the racial and ethnic makeup of the neighborhood where you live?

Orange County Southern California Mostly white 65% 38% Mostly black -- 4% Mostly Latino 11% 16% Mostly Asian 3% 3% Even mix 20% 39% Don’t know 1% Less than 1%

+

Is the racial and ethnic makeup of the neighborhood where you live changing these days or is it staying about the same? (Those who said “changing” were asked: What group or groups are moving into your neighborhood: Latinos, blacks, Asians or whites? Up to two responses accepted.)

Views of: Total Whites Latinos Asians Changing 38% 40% 33% 35% Latinos moving in 20% 21% 21% 17% Blacks moving in 4% 4% 6% 5% Asians moving in 21% 22% 15% 26% Whites moving in * * * 1% Staying same 59% 58% 64% 61% Don’t know 3% 2% 3% 4%

* Less than 1%

+

Do you think the different racial and ethnic groups moving into your community have made the quality of your life better or worse? (Asked of those whose neighborhoods are changing.)

Minorities Latinos Asians moving in moving in moving in Better 6% 3% 7% No effect 64% 51% 75% Worse 28% 43% 15% Don’t know 2% 3% 3%

+

INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIPS

At least three-quarters of Orange County’s residents work or go to church or school with someone of another race. A look at how residents feel about cross-racial friendships and interracial marriages:

Do you work or go to school or go to religious services with a person or persons of another race or not? (Those who said “yes” were asked: Are any of those people black, white, Latino or Asian? Up to two responses accepted.)

Views of: Whites Latinos Asians Yes 78% 73% 74% Yes, blacks 54% 44% 40% Yes, whites N/A 45% 64% Yes, Latinos 68% N/A 49% Yes, Asians 56% 47% N/A

N/A Not applicable

+

Do you know any person of another race whom you consider a close personal friend? (Those who said “yes” were asked: Are any of your friends black, white, Latino or Asian? Up to two responses accepted.)

Orange County Southern California Views of: Views of: Whites Latinos Asians Whites Blacks Latinos Asians Yes 80% 67% 77% 86% 70% 73% 81% Yes, black 48% 45% 27% 63% N/A 53% 54% Yes, white N/A 41% 58% N/A 58% 37% 65% Yes, Latino 57% N/A 38% 66% 52% N/A 54% Yes, Asian 49% 33% N/A 48% 38% 34% N/A

N/A Not applicable

+

Would you approve or disapprove if someone in your family married a person of a different racial or ethnic background than yours?

Orange County

Views of: Total Whites Latinos Asians Approve 16% 17% 11% 26% Wouldn’t care 66% 65% 73% 55% Disapprove 16% 16% 12% 17% Don’t know 2% 2% 4% 2%

Southern California

Views of: Total Whites Blacks Latinos Asians Approve 19% 20% 20% 17% 22% Wouldn’t care 61% 56% 70% 66% 65% Disapprove 14% 18% 7% 10% 8% Don’t know 6% 6% 3% 7% 5%

Note: Some totals do not add up to 100% because of rounding or because of multiple responses. The opinions of blacks are included as part of total countywide results, but the Orange County sample is too small for separate analysis.

Source: Los Angeles Times Polls

A Look at This Series

Sunday: A rapidly changing populace grapples with ethnic diversification.

Monday: For residents of all races, fear of escalating crime is a unifying factor.

Today: Some neighborhoods see new demographics as change for the worse.

Wednesday: Whose fault is the alienation? Institutions, individuals share the blame.

What’s Your Opinion?

A Times Poll shows public concern over the state of ethnic relations in Orange County. Recent incidents highlight the potential for tensions between the races. As the county’s population becomes more diverse, what can be done to improve relations between people of different ethnic backgrounds? We’d like your opinion for use in a possible story. If you would like to respond to this question, you can contact us in the following ways:

BY FAX: (714) 966-7711

Attention: Metro Section Reader Survey / Ethnic Relations

BY MAIL:

Metro Section Reader Survey / Ethnic Relations

1375 Sunflower Ave.

Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626

BY PHONE:

TimesLink: (714) 808-8463. Then press *8310. This number is toll-free in most of Orange County.