Santa Ana Heights scores windfall
Neighborhood near John Wayne Airport wins conceptual approval from county supervisors for millions in public improvements.
By JEFF OVERLEY - The Orange County Register
SANTA ANA HEIGHTS – Years of clamoring are finally paying dividends for residents of Santa Ana Heights – about $23.6 million in dividends, to be precise.
That's the amount county supervisors on Tuesday agreed, in concept, to spend for an array of public improvements in the partially unincorporated neighborhood near John Wayne Airport.
The windfall, slated to fund everything from playground equipment to equestrian arenas to power pole removal, was largely orchestrated by Supervisor John Moorlach, active in Santa Ana Heights issues for nearly a year before his election in November.
Most of the cash will come from a resident-funded redevelopment account that some say hasn't delivered on promises during its two-decade existence. Until now, residents blamed apathy among elected officials, as well as political hostility toward redevelopment, for the perceived shortcomings.
Neighborhood leader Barbara Venezia, commenting on a community Web site, said the supervisors' vote marked "a red-letter day" for Santa Ana Heights, part of which is in Newport Beach.
The projects include:
- $7.5 million to underground utility lines.
- $7.3 million for a fire station.
- $5.9 million to widen Irvine Avenue.
- $850,000 to pave Kline Drive
- $673,000 for Mesa-Birch and Orchard Drive parks.
- $175,000 for a horse arena.
"These projects are long-anticipated and will be great assets for our community," Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle said.
Contracts will likely be awarded in coming months. Moorlach wants all work done by fall 2008.
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