A Spirit of Unity in Aliso Viejo

Marcelle Fortier still recalls when she first moved from crowded West Los Angeles into her Aliso Viejo home 14 years ago in one of the community’s first subdivisions.

“It was so open and wide and wonderful, it was like heaven,” she said.

Barely two decades old, the community of Aliso Viejo may become Orange County’s 34th city by next year. An application for incorporation was submitted last week to the county along with petitions signed by more than 5,000 residents. Approval could take from 12 to 18 months.

The community, with about 37,000 residents, is part of a boomlet spreading across south Orange County. In March, Laguna Woods incorporated to include the retirement community of Leisure World and in November, Rancho Santa Margarita residents will decide whether to become a city. Meanwhile, the gated community of Coto de Caza also is considering incorporation.

Not since the 1980s, when Orange County went on an incorporation binge with the launching of five new cities--Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills and Lake Forest--has county government seen such a rush for local control.

The underlying motivation, said cityhood leaders in Aliso Viejo, was a concern that the county would not make their area a priority. Community leaders now say traffic, parking, planning and public safety top the community’s needs.

“We have one library but we don’t have a seat on the countywide library board,” said Cynthia Pickett, Aliso Viejo Cityhood treasurer. “If you need planning and building permits you need to go to Santa Ana, and you only have one person on the Board of Supervisors to help you. The rest of them don’t have a vested interest in your community.”

For example, the community took it upon itself to raise funds to build a $8-million community center, said Carmen Vali, president of Cityhood 2000. Already, $1.5 million has been collected.

“We need a center with a gymnasium because the only other gym is at the high school,” she said. The center is designed to include a swimming complex, community association offices, art rooms and teen center.

“The county is not going to provide Aliso Viejo with an $8-million community center--let’s get real here, folks,” Vali said.

In addition, closure of the El Toro Marine base and the county’s proposal to build an international commercial airport by 2005 has heightened homeowner fears.

“We are in the flight path of El Toro,” Vali said, noting that the area is represented by two county supervisors, Tom Wilson and Todd Spitzer, who are against an El Toro airport, but are the only airport opponents on the five-member board.

As for participating in the fight against the airport by the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, an anti-airport group made up of eight South County cities, Vali said, “We’re only a community association and we can’t join.”

Supervisor Wilson, who represents Aliso Viejo, said he understands residents’ desires.

“It’s called local control,” Wilson said. “I was on the cityhood committee in Laguna Niguel and I understand local control issues. As supervisor, I’ve been Aliso Viejo’s pseudo mayor but the community is beginning to mature.”

But cityhood is not an easy process, said Carol Gamble, Rancho Santa Margarita Cityhood Committee vice president.

“It’s an enormous undertaking,” Gamble said. “You need at least $125,000 because you need to hire a fiscal consultant and get a comprehensive fiscal analysis. You also have to do quite a bit of legwork with the community because you want them to be aware of decisions and you need their feedback.”

“I would give Carmen Vali and the other leaders the gift of sleep and time, because from the point at which you start the petition drive and complete negotiations with the county, it takes nearly a full year.”

So far, fund-raising efforts have been slow but creative, Pickett said. About $42,000 has been raised from a variety of events, including golf tournaments and face painting for children.

“Don’t laugh,” Pickett said. “I remember the face painting because it was our first fund-raiser held in March 1997. We did $175 in three hours. We’ve also rented an espresso cart where the proceeds go to the fund.”

Aliso Viejo has distinguished itself by becoming Southern California’s youngest community--35 is the median age--and by keeping new housing costs low enough to make Aliso Viejo the capital for first-time home buyers.

Many of those newer residents, cityhood leaders said, galvanized after the county approved several unwanted apartment projects and the school district chose to put in a large school bus depot.

The community has been touted as a “newer, better, smarter” environment, and in many ways become a blueprint for the future. It was planned to encourage businesses and corporations to locate here to provide nearby jobs. Closer jobs mean less commute.

And businesses have been coming, such as PepsiCo, Fluor Daniel and United Parcel Service. Soka University of America, a 100-acre private liberal arts college, is expected to open in 2001.

“There are a lot of stay-at-home mommies and in that regard it’s a throwback to the ‘Leave it to Beaver’ era. But we also have DINKS--dual-income couples with no kids,” Pickett said. “I believe the community doesn’t have that cookie-cutter look and some of the newer subdivisions have models with Cape Cod and English Tudor styles. At least, it’s not the same old thing.”

For Fortier, who retired from her UCLA job managing the Center for Afro-American Studies, she’s happy with the direction her community is taking.

“It’s very exciting to be part of a new developing community,” she said. “When I circulated the [cityhood] petition I got a lot of ‘If it ain’t broke, why fix it’ answers from people. But I believe the chances of our becoming a city are good.”