City, Orange County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 92701, 92702, 92703, 92704, 92705, 92706, 92707, 92711, 92711, 92735, 92799
County
seat and most populous city in Orange County. A city of contrasts. North of
17th Street is upscale. South of 17th Street is generally low-income to
blue-collar middle class, with parts of 1st to 17th streets forming a
transition area. Population 353,184. www.mccormacks.com
A
newcomer's city with many immigrants. School districts and institutions are
working to weave the new residents into city life.
Family
town, loads of kids. Median age is 27 years. About 40 percent of the residents
are under age 21 (census).
Click for regional or detailed map
Affordable
town. Many homes for people starting out in home market. Rundown in some
sections but overall presentable. On the south side, appearances vary from
neighborhood to neighborhood and street to street and in many instances homes
on the same block will show different degrees of care. But many homes are kept
up; lawns mowed, shrubs trimmed, etc.
One of the
first cities in the county to venture into high-rise buildings. Work was
underway in 2007 to build in the downtown an office building 37 stories high,
tallest in the county. More buildings to follow, with the goal of creating a
high-rise hub of offices and condos near the junction of Interstate 5 and Highway
55, and between approximately First and Fourth streets. This neighborhood is
close to regional malls and John Wayne Airport.
New
federal building in downtown. Discovery Science Center, topped by a leaning
cube (about 10 stories high), opened 1998. City leaders are boosting the arts
and creating an “artists' village” as a way of reviving the downtown. Community
college opened an art center. Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, which in 2007
opened a 300-seat auditorium. www.mccormacks.com
In 2000, the Orange County High School
of the Arts moved from Los Alamitos, where it was cramped for space, to
downtown Santa Ana. Also in downtown, St. Joseph's, nationally recognized
ballet school. Many artists are renting lofts or apartments in the
neighborhood.
Served by
Santa Ana Unified School District. On state comparisons, some schools score in
80th to 90th percentile but many schools score below the 30th percentile.
School district uses magnet schools, called Fundamental Schools, to encourage
kids to mix across ethnic and neighborhood lines.
The
Fundamentals generally run English-only programs, require homework four nights
a week and parent support of academics, and do not offer special instruction
for high-IQ kids (gifted program.
Over the last few years, the district has
approved the conversion of several regular schools to charters, which have more
flexibility in determining curriculum. This is a district with many choices.
District
has a dress code: blue and white or muted dress at elementary schools. Parents
who object can request waiver.
In 1999,
voters approved a $145 million bond to renovate and build schools. Many schools
have been upgraded but new schools have lagged because of the cost of land. In
2005, the district opened an elementary school and a high school and in 2007
will open a new high school and a renovated high school. www.mccormacks.com
At the same
time, enrollments have been slipping. Between 2002 and 2006, the number of
students has dropped by more than 6,000. California funds by enrollment. When
it drops, school districts receive less money. In 2007, faced with a deficit,
the school board was considering closing a school and eliminating teaching and
administrative jobs.
The school
district has given up on year-round schools and returned to a traditional
calendar, an effort to please parents and keep them from transferring out of
the school district or moving out of the city. Many parents dislike the
year-round approach. See Choosing a School.
To encourage
students to come to school everyday, which boosts state income, the district
sponsors attendance contests with a television as prize. In 2007, the prize for
perfect attendance was a chance at Chevrolet Aveo ($13,425) donated by a car
dealer.
Some
students on the east side near Tustin may be assigned to Tustin District
schools. Check with school district to find out which school your child will
attend.
In 2005, the city recorded 17 homicides. The counts for the previous years: 25,17,
23, 24, 17, 14, 21, 27, 46, 72, 74, 78, 58, 59, 43, 53, 38 and 31. See Crime.
City is
trying to cut crime with programs, neighborhood substations, and stepped-up
police efforts. Security doors common south of 1st Street and many people have
installed gates across their driveways, behind which they park their cars. www.mccormacks.com
Gangs a
problem in some neighborhoods. In 2006, homicides associated with gangs rose to
18, a six-year high. The victims included two 14-year-old boys; suspects
arrested. The city council responded in 2007 by setting up a commission to draw
up a plan to suppress and the gangs and target their leaders.
State in
2008 tallied 75,462 housing units, of which 33,750 were single detached, 6,702
single attached, 31,101 multiples and 3,909 mobile homes. Housing units are
split 50-50 between owner occupied and rentals (2000 census).
Located on
flat land in the center of the county, Santa Ana started the 1950s with 8,500
housing units and a population of about 48,000. Of all the cities in the
county, it was probably in the best position to ride with the suburban boom and
ride it did. In each of the next three decades, it added 50,000 to 55,000
residents, and in the 1980s, the number ballooned to about 90,000. Since then,
growth has slowed.
When it
could have annexed land, Santa Ana was not that aggressive and now it's running
out of empty space. As the city grew, it added parks (about three dozen) and
large schools — these were the baby-boom years — the community
college and amenities, including four libraries. And as people prospered, they
took their equity and moved up, and by and by a low-income market was created
in initial subdivisions, below 1st Street.
North of
17th Street, the changes have been fewer. Here also many of the homes were
built in the Sixties and many fall in the category of nice-but-ordinary
three-bedroom homes. The streets here, however, are cleaner, the landscaping
much more extensive, the level of care, as evidenced by the homes and the
lawns, much higher. Security doors are rare. Some homes are mansions, gorgeous
old things, perched on large lots. www.mccormacks.com
As the
county seat, Santa Ana captures a lot of county employees in its local
workforce. The county buildings are clustered with the city buildings about 6th
Street. Santa Ana is home to West Coast University and Pacific Coast College
and to Mater Dei, one of the most popular private schools in the county and a
national football power. Vietnamese Catholic Center with library. Large
community college. Many classes, activities, town zoo. Fiesta Patria draws
250,000.
South
Coast Plaza, large and opulent, on the south side (within Costa Mesa). On the
north side, a mall that includes a Macys and Nordstrom. On the east side, a
large auto mall, good source of tax revenues for the city. Trader Joe's.
Crisscrossed,
bisected or bordered by several freeways, including Interstate 5. Close to
Disneyland and to John Wayne Airport, two of the largest job centers in the
county. Many residents have short commutes. Commuter rail (station near
downtown) to other cities in the county and to L.A. and San Diego counties.
• Lovers'
Leap. Every Valentine's Day about 150 couples come to the old courthouse in
Santa Ana and tie the knot.
• For the
school kids, three weeks of vacation at Christmas. Many go to Mexico for the
holidays and often get back late. The school district decided to recognize the
problem and add a week to the Christmas vacation; time made up at end of year. www.mccormacks.com
• In 2006,
the Discovery Center welcomed life-size models of dinosaurs. One is hollowed to
allow visitors to see how the giants looked from the inside.
• YMCA in
2006 opened a center on the south side of town. Pool, fitness center, rock
climbing, classes on health.
• City
with funding from a number of sources is building parks and recreation
facilities along the Santa Ana River.
• City and
the Kiwanis Club are building a basketball court for handicapped and wheelchair-bound players. To be located at Thornton Park.
• Under
construction in 2007, a new courthouse for the State Court of Appeals. www.mccormacks.com
• Fat
kids. The fast-food people are figuring out that if they don’t slim down the
kids, the government may intervene with regulations that force them to change.
New York City, to cite one example, requires restaurants to cut trans fat. In
2006, McDonalds opened a mini gym next to one of its Santa Ana stores —
stationary bikes, monkey bars, small sports court, climbing ropes. We’ll see
how this flies.
Chamber of
commerce (714) 541-5353.
City web
site: www.ci.santa-ana.ca.us
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