Orange County Focus is dedicated on Monday to analysis of community news, a look atwhat’s ahead and the voices of local people. : PERSPECTIVE : Attempts to Expand Youth Activities Trigger Adult Protests

In survey after survey, Orange County residents express concerns about crime, especially among youth, and say that public officials should work to ensure that communities are safe and family-oriented.

A number of cities have responded with a solution that both teen-agers and police consider effective: providing recreational activities and sports as social outlets that go beyond congregating at shopping malls and fast-food restaurants.

But efforts to upgrade parks, build roller hockey rinks and establish other youth-oriented attractions have drawn strong protests, forcing city leaders to weigh the needs of teen-agers against concerns of residents who fear disruption of their neighborhoods.

“It puts us in a difficult position,” said Dana Point Councilman Harold R. Kaufman, who along with the city’s mayor is the target of a recall campaign launched in part because he voted to build baseball diamonds near a high school.

“You have to respond to the residents and mitigate their problems,” Kaufman said. “But you also have to consider the bigger picture . . . and what is best for the future.”

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Dana Point isn’t the only city feeling the heat. In Mission Viejo and Huntington Beach, residents have been sharply critical of proposals to build roller hockey rinks. And in Seal Beach, homeowners near a small park spent months in an unsuccessful bid to block a volleyball court that they feared would attract rowdy teens.

No city has pondered the issue more carefully than Irvine. Jolted by the city’s first drive-by gang shooting in 1992, city and school district leaders commissioned an extensive study of youth violence that produced a number of recommendations. High on the list: providing teens with activities that keep them out of trouble.

The study identified those 10 to 16 years old as having a special need for diversions because they are too young to drive or hold part-time jobs.

“The kinds of calls the Police Department was getting for vandalism and disturbances seemed to fall into that age group,” Irvine Councilman Greg Smith said. “They seemed to be the most at-risk group.”

Irvine’s resolve to make the city more “youth-friendly” was tested about a year later when a developer proposed Palace Park, a seven-acre complex of arcades, miniature golf courses and batting cages.

Dozens of residents packed public hearings to oppose the complex, saying that it would attract trouble-makers from outside Irvine as well as increase traffic and crime.

Despite the protests, the City Council went ahead with the project. “In the final analysis, we had to look at the entire community and weigh the objections with the benefits,” Smith said. “We found the concerns could be met with proper planning.”

So far, the protesters’ dire predictions have not come true. Palace Park is a popular meeting place not just for teen-agers but for entire families. Irvine police report no serious incidents since the park opened last year and praise its management for working closely with the department on security matters.

Not all conflicts over youth services are so easily resolved. Unlike Palace Park, which is in a commercial zone, many proposed recreational sites would be in neighborhood parks or at schools next to homes.

In several cities, officials have sought to convert tennis courts into roller hockey rinks, bringing objections from residents who say they fear that the new activities will draw throngs of boisterous teens.

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“With the tennis courts, we knew they were there when we moved in. We accept that,” said Mission Viejo resident Lynn Coons, who successfully blocked construction of a hockey facility on a school tennis court.

“Most tennis players are generally not rowdy and don’t have large groups coming to watch them,” Coons said.

City leaders say they are sensitive to such concerns and strive to provide youth services that will have no negative effect on the surrounding community. Dana Point officials, for example, responded to complaints about plans for a roller hockey rink in a community park by suggesting an alternative location farther away from homes.

“I think some of the complaints are legitimate,” Councilman Kaufman said. “We want to try to eliminate any disruptions.”

Finding common ground, veterans of the campaign say, requires mutual tolerance: Advocates of youth programs must consider how projects might affect neighbors, while homeowners must recognize that most teens turn to sports for fun and friendship, not to start fights.

“I can understand people’s reaction when they see some kinds of youth behavior,” said Irvine’s Smith. “But those who are causing the problems are a small minority. . . . I think we need to continue working hard to make sure this is the exception and not the rule.”