Foothills Cityhood Drive Faltering

Backers of a plan to incorporate 10 foothill communities into a single South County city said Friday they may give up the fight because of a lack of local support.

The Foothills Cityhood Committee needs money, volunteers and signatures if it is to stay afloat, said leader Michelle Lamb, who said the group will meet Monday evening to consider its future.

“It’s very painful to say, but it’s not looking good,” Lamb said.

In April, the group began gathering signatures calling for a public vote on whether to incorporate the foothill communities into Orange County’s 32nd city. But so far there has been little evidence of widespread community support, she said.

The areas that would be incorporated under the proposal include Rancho Santa Margarita, Foothill Ranch, Portola Hills, Rancho Cielo, Coto de Caza, Trabuco Canyon, Trabuco Highlands, Robinson Ranch, Dove Canyon and Las Flores.

Lamb and other supporters believe incorporation would give them local control and allow them to retain much of their lucrative tax base, money that now goes to the county and the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

“Apathy seems to have taken its toll,” speculates Lamb, who also admits that opponents have also damaged the group’s progress. “I don’t agree with them but I wish the other side well in doing what they want to do.”

Critics, such as Rancho Santa Margarita resident Gary S. Thompson, derided the incorporation drive as creating a “Supercity,” a term that conjured up images of Los Angeles. Thompson and other opponents insist that a large city would mean fewer services and higher taxes for all.

“I’m not surprised to hear it,” Thompson said of the possibility that the Foothills Cityhood Committee’s incorporation drive may die out. “We weren’t hearing much support for it at all.”

Thompson believes communities should incorporate on their own or into several small cities, a move he believes will keep taxes low and ensure that residents will not have to share their services with others.

The Foothills Cityhood Committee can be reached at (714) 249-7310.