Bankruptcy Lingers Outside the City Limits

Few people received a bigger jolt from Orange County’s December 1994 plunge into bankruptcy than the 180,000 residents of its unincorporated communities, who rely solely on county government for basic services such as policing, public works and code enforcement.

Nineteen months later, the Sheriff’s Department continues to patrol the pockets of county land not claimed by any city, and the crime rate remains level. The physical appearance of the neighborhoods has not deteriorated, nor have property values.

Still, in smaller ways, residents in the unincorporated areas are feeling the sting of massive budget cuts and service reductions forced by the bankruptcy.

Operating with fewer employees, some county departments are taking longer to respond to calls for code enforcement and public works services, such as sidewalk repairs and nuisance calls. Officials have essentially stopped enforcing the county’s noise ordinance because they don’t have the money to purchase modern equipment and hire staff.

Moreover, some residents who tried calling the county Hall of Administration to report neighborhood problems complain about being unable to reach the right county officials and getting transferred into voice-mail hell.

“They get the royal runaround,” said Holly Veale, an aide to Supervisor Marian Bergeson, whose office receives 30 to 50 calls a month from frustrated constituents in search of service.

“Sometimes, there simply isn’t anyone around to respond to their concerns,” Veale added. “There is no follow-up.”

Bergeson and Supervisor Don Saltarelli--who together represent most unincorporated areas--have expressed concerns about the problem, which some residents said weakens the county’s already strained credibility with the public.

Saltarelli recently proposed that the county appoint an ombudsman to serve the far-flung unincorporated areas, which stretch from the El Modena barrios east of Orange to the equestrian estates of Orange Park Acres near Villa Park and the planned communities of Rancho Santa Margarita in the South County foothills.

The ombudsman, whom Saltarelli said could be selected from within the county ranks, would help residents solve neighborhood concerns and provide a public liaison service that didn’t exist even before the bankruptcy.

“We have a large percentage of the population that really has nobody working specifically on its problems,” he said. “There is no focal point where people can go to help resolve their problems.”

The question of how to better serve constituents comes as county officials discuss the possibility of giving up control of unincorporated areas altogether. The future of the communities will be a major subject of the county’s government restructuring effort, which is set to begin in the coming months.

Many urban planners argue that the unincorporated areas would be better and more efficiently served if they merged with neighboring cities or formed municipalities of their own.

Until a decade ago, the county governed large swaths of South County including Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills and Dana Point. But as the region grew, residents demanded more local control over civic affairs. Between 1988 and 1991, all five communities incorporated.

In the remaining unincorporated areas, neighborhood activists express mixed feelings about the quality of services.

“We usually get very adequate response when we bring a problem to [the county’s] attention,” said Milt Petersen, a resident of the Rossmoor community near Los Alamitos, adding that bankruptcy’s biggest impact is that some sidewalk and curb repairs have been put off.

Bob Bennyhoff, an Orange Park Acres activist and newspaper publisher, agreed. “We don’t have many complaints,” he said. “We don’t require a lot of county services. If we have a problem, we don’t mind speaking up.”

But in other areas, public opinion is more pointed.

“We have needs for youth services, a senior citizens center. Most cities provide these services to their constituents, but we don’t have them,” said Ron Greek, organizer of a cityhood movement in the South County foothills. “What we want to know is where our money is going.”

When possible, the county has tried to blunt the force of the financial crisis on unincorporated areas.

Residents expressed alarm soon after the bankruptcy when the district attorney’s office announced it would stop prosecuting minor building and safety code infractions because of budget cuts.

To remedy the situation, the Board of Supervisors approved a new system that allows county officials to issue citations for code violations without the district attorney’s office participation.

Residents and county officials praise the citation system and fine schedule for giving new teeth to county ordinances covering such issues as hillside grading, nuisance abatement and building design.

But when it comes to complaints about leaf blowers, pool motors and other annoying noises, residents face a dilemma.

The county’s noise abatement program has been all but dismantled over the last five years. In the wake of the bankruptcy, officials said they lack the equipment and personnel to respond to complaints.

Though the noise ordinance remain on the books, the best the county can do is discuss complaints with residents and take action only on the most egregious problems, said Allen Stroh, supervising environmental health specialist.

While loud noises can aggravate residents, officials said the Health Care Agency must focus its limited resources on issues that pose the greatest threat to public health such as communicable diseases and restaurant cleanliness.

“I understand the feelings of residents . . . [but] this is a zoning enforcement issue,” Stroh said. “It’s not like salmonella” poisoning.

Supervisors and residents said they appreciate the financial pressures. Still, they insist the county can do more to address community concerns and provide speedy information or resolution to service problems.

“The frustration level is strong when no one listens to what [residents] care about,” Bergeson said.

“A law is useless if you have no way of enforcing it,” she added. “There has to be accountability.”

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Moving to the City?

About 180,000 people live in Orange County’s unincorporated communities-a diverse array of neighborhoods that range from working- class El Modena and Midway City to upscale hillside hamlets such as Cowan Heights and Orange Park Acres. As the county moves to reorganize, some have suggested these areas be absorbed by neighboring cities or form their own municipalities. Here are some of the major unincorporated neighborhoods:

Rossmoor

Orange Park Acres

Silverado Canyon

Santa Ana Heights

Newport Coast

Coto de Caza

El Modena

North Tustin

Rancho Santa Margarita

Foothill Ranch

Aliso Viejo