Protecting Santa Ana Neighborhood

* I am an active member of the Washington Square Neighborhood Assn. in Santa Ana. I strongly object to the negative tone toward neighborhood associations that was expressed in The Times Column One article, “Digging In to Defend Their Turf,” Dec. 28, 1993.

Anyone who has lived in Santa Ana for the past 10 years can see the results of inept, apathetic or downright greedy city officials and developers. In many cases new developments in our city have turned out to be overcrowded high-density housing and strip malls. Which in turn created caldrons of drug dealing, prostitution, traffic congestion and contributed to blight in the surrounding neighborhoods.

It is true that the pursuits of neighborhood associations are at times misguided and trite, but most of the time we find ourselves fighting the good fight against bona fide threats to the sanctity of our neighborhoods. By virtue of grass-roots efforts such as designing traffic mitigation plans and opposing questionable development in or near our neighborhood, we have managed to salvage what is left of a quality life in our city.

These actions do indeed partially close the neighborhood and lend to the perception of protectionism. If you take a closer look at the concerns of most neighborhoods, you may see that it is not only the value of our homes, but also the safety and character of our neighborhoods that we wish to protect.

CRAIG STEPHENS

Santa Ana