South Orange County City Managers' Report

The South Orange County Economic Coalition invited city managers or assistant city managers to its monthly meeting on January 27. Six (of eleven) cities were at the meeting, and what they shared was very informative and uplifting about South County. For those cities not represented, a marvelous opportunity for networking was missed.

The Cities represented were: Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, and Rancho Santa Margarita. The comments following are from what the author understood and while an attempt to be accurate, there may be an item or two slightly askew.

Jennifer Cervantez, City Manager of Rancho Santa Margarita, stated the city has an enviable business occupancy rate, in the 0- 3 percent range. It has a good positive flow of revenue from its Auto Center. The City Manager, Jennifer Cervantez, also said that there will soon be signage on the 71 Freeway that will identify the exit for the Auto Center Drive. She talked about on-going efforts to renovate city hall, and updated of the General Plan.. Finally, she noted that Chiquita Ridge has about 55 acres of open space, and there are no plans to develop this area, but keep for trails and as a natural habitat.

Dennis Wilberg (City Manager), speaking for Mission Viejo provided a delightful short video of where MV is, and where it is going, all very positive. He noted the $8.5M renovation of the Aquatic Complex and $5.5M that has gone into water infrastructure. In particular, the 124-acre lake is no longer filled with drinking water but is now entirely recycled water. He spoke to the addition of 16 new restaurants in 2016, and the animal service and shelter that provides support to four additional cities. This is an alternative to the much maligned County Animal shelter.

Don Fox, Assistant City Manager of Laguna Niguel talked about improvements along Forbes Road, nearly 3,000 new units (apartments) that are planned, and 426 of these are already filled. There are plans to do some major renovation on Crown Valley Parkway, as well as improvements to the Oso Creek Riding Trail.

Laguna Hills Assistant City Manager Don White spoke about the area around the Laguna Hills Mall. It was aged and is in the midst of a major renovation. The shopping, theater, restaurant and living complex is now called the Five Lagunas. The retail stores are to be finished by Thanksgiving 2018. There are 988 new apartments planned for the area. For those of us fans of the Longhorn Steak House, the sad news is it will be closed in a few months and the area is slated for additional retail space.

Aliso Viejo’s City Manager, David Doyle, mentioned Soka University as a positive influence for the 49,000 residents. He called attention to the Forbes Magazine saying the city was one of the top 25 cities for living. The city has a PGA-level golf course and the high-end Shea Apartment Complex. The city’s goal is to stay current and competitive with its neighbors and not lose high-end or quality businesses to its neighbors.

Dana Point is a unique city in South Orange County. Mike Killebrew, the Acting City Manager, noted that while not the only city that relies on tourists and visitors, it recognizes that they are a hospitality driven city, and half of its budget comes from revenue from visitors, whether out of state or from surrounding cities. There are aggressive plans to renovate the Lantern District, and the South Cove development on the other side of the PCH from the Doheny State Beach, is being developed for additional residential space. The Strand has been approved for development, and Dana Point Harbor is in the early stages of a major renovation. One major goal for Dana Point is to build a “world class surf” museum.

All of these cities report that they are fiscally sound. While they recognize there is some competition with neighbors, they also recognize their niche and are willing to make long range plans to meet the needs of their residents while remaining in close working partnerships with their neighbors.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This article is written by Col. Tom Cagley.