Aliso Viejo Enters a 'Renaissance Era'

The Renaissance of Aliso Viejo welcomed approximately 400 guests to Wednesday evening.

After a reception, which included local dancers and singers, guests attended Mayor Carmen Cave's State of the City Address in the university's Performing Arts Center.

Read Cave's entire address below:

"Good evening and welcome to The State of the City 2011—The Renaissance of Aliso Viejo.

Good evening.  I am Carmen Cave, and I am privileged to be your Mayor, and to serve with my colleagues who are here tonight.  Please welcome Councilmember Bill Phillips, Councilmember Phil Tsunoda, and Mayor Pro Tem Don Garcia.

 A State of the City address is normally a run-down of what we have accomplished in the past year—financially, with infrastructure, etc.  However, tonight, we are going to be a bit different.

Ladies and gentlemen, your city is 10 years old.  And, I’m guessing some of you are saying to yourselves, "a little young for a Renaissance, aren’t we?" If these thoughts are running through your mind, then, indeed, why should we showcase the Renaissance of Aliso Viejo?

Renaissance means re-birth, and this perfectly describes what I see in our city.  The first Renaissance-no, not the hotel in Walnut Creek that pre-dated our own Renaissance Hotel here in Aliso—was a time in history when new ideas, new vision and dynamic changes were occurring in Europe.

People were moving into and creating cities.  Instead of overlords, and working for “the man,” people became merchants and commerce became a mainstay of these cities—or as we like to call it, business.

It was an exciting time. Christopher Columbus was exploring, searching for New Worlds. Art also evolved and flourished.  Michealangelo was creating the Sistine Chapel and The David. William Shakespeare put quill to parchment and began to create the great works we know today, words we quote in our daily lives.

New ways of thinking were emerging and giving people a new kind of freedom—freedom to think about and plan for the future.

Interestingly, the scholars of the time began reviewing old literary and historical texts in order to better plan for the days ahead.  Imagine that, they thought that the past could inspire the future.  What a concept!

And here we are, tonight, looking to the past to inform the future.  In a few minutes, we will see a short film that for the first time documents Aliso Viejo’s past, illuminates the present, and gives us a glimpse into the possibilities of our future.

 So what is the State of our City?  Politically, structurally, and culturally, our City is already a leading example for others throughout the country.

 Much like the first Renaissance, we have developed a strong local government that gives us control over our own needs, wants and determinations.  This kind of control was part of our original plan 10 years ago.

Today, we have a strong bottom line.  We entered our tenth year with over $37 million in the bank—while some of it is allocated for specific uses, we have over 1.5 years of operating funds in the event of a dire emergency.

We rely on merchants and commerce—30 percent of our General Fund revenues come from sales and use taxes—which means we need to bring in solid, stable businesses and retain those businesses.  We need to develop relationships with these businesses because, if they are successful, the city is successful.

To that end, the city is a continuing supporter of the South Orange County Chambers of Commerce.  We reach out to our major employers, and other businesses in town to hear what they need from us, rather than waiting to hear from them.

Forty four percent of our General Fund revenues come from property taxes.  This means we all need to make decisions that increase the value of our homes and property.  By continuously working to enhance our community, we ensure that people will continue to trip over each other to buy a home or locate a business here.

Many of our businesses participate in and sponsor community events. Companies such as CR&R, Renaissance ClubSport, Cox Communications, Professional Community Management (PCM), and San Diego Gas & Electric and the Gas Company, work side by side with the City to support our vision for a beautiful, clean, fun, artful, and prosperous community.

Because of our supportive business community and all of the active and involved citizens, Aliso Viejo is coming of age, moving into its own Renaissance.  And, it’s not just about business and politics.  We believe, as they did in the Renaissance, that the arts must thrive in order to have a fully-realized community of citizens.

To that end, Aliso Viejo enjoys dance academies and performers of all kinds who call our city home.  We teach and support art in our schools, and we have Soka University.

Because of the commitment of Soka University, we have this unparalleled Performing Arts Center on this beautiful campus.  Soka is the architectural jewel in our City that enables us to see, experience, and participate in art-whether through concerts, theatrical performances, exhibits, or the wide range of artistic expression that we enjoy here.  And through Soka’s mission for its students and its underlying mission of peace, Aliso Viejo has a hand in creating global citizens who contribute back to the world through service and learning in a world-wide context.

Tonight, we will reflect on the past and perhaps add some context to the continuing discussion of what our future should be.  We will indulge ourselves by viewing the canvas that our performers will paint upon with their vision of the artistic Aliso Viejo.

I invite you to join with me as we celebrate the Aliso Viejo that we were, the Aliso Viejo that we have grown into and the Aliso Viejo of tomorrow—the Aliso Viejo that will stand the test of time."