Santa Ana Maps Bold Plan for Education : Revival: A proposal to turn the entire city into a redevelopment zone is aimed primarily at improving schools and the climate for families.

SANTA ANA — Hoping to save their city and schools from “economic and social blight,” Santa Ana officials are gingerly developing an unusual plan that would turn the entire city into a redevelopment area.

In a city where previous redevelopment efforts have been met with some suspicion and controversy because families were displaced to make room for commercial enterprises, city officials are pledging to work this time with community leaders to assure that no private property will be acquired through eminent domain during the expected three-decade life span of the project.

City Council members are also promising that the millions of dollars in new income generated by the redevelopment will lead to such improvements as more school classrooms, heating and air conditioning for older schools, more parks and community centers and neighborhood preservation.

During a recent redevelopment discussion, council members said long-range planning should consider how to meet the needs of younger families, develop an after-6 p.m. life in the city and explore the need for more police facilities.

Councilman John Acosta also said the issue of “white flight” should be studied.

“A city like Santa Ana really needs to do some bold things in order to take charge of its own destiny,” Councilman Robert L. Richardson said of the redevelopment proposal. “If you like the status quo, then you would probably not support this idea. We need to do some different things to help make this a more liveable community.”

By placing the emphasis on improving educational facilities or creating joint municipal and school uses of public buildings, city officials said Santa Ana will be putting money behind its “Education First” slogan.

“If we are really serious about ‘Education First,’ ” Councilman Miguel A. Pulido Jr. said, “the only way we are going to raise property values and bring up the level of the entire community is to make a sacrifice and make a strong effort toward the education of our community.”

But Acosta and Councilman Richards L. Norton said they wanted to hear more about the project before signing on. Acosta questioned whether a redevelopment district--defined as a deteriorating or blighted area--is legal on a citywide basis, because the city’s upscale business and residential neighborhoods would not fall into that category.

Preliminary plans call for the creation of a redevelopment district out of neighborhoods not already included in the six city project areas.

In a normal redevelopment, a deteriorated area is designated as the project site and bonds are sold to pay for capital improvements. If the total assessed tax valuation increases, the additional revenue goes to the city’s redevelopment agency to repay the bond debt.

City staff members predict that as homes and other properties change hands, increased property tax revenue would bring into a citywide redevelopment program $2 million to $4 million annually during the first four years. In later years, the tax revenue would average $10 million annually.

Cindy Nelson, the city’s Community Development Agency executive director, said Coronado, near San Diego, is the only city in California that has started a citywide redevelopment program.

The concept was originally discussed by Santa Ana officials in 1987. But officials said the idea was placed on the back burner after another redevelopment project, the Bristol Street Corridor, became embroiled in controversy over the displacing of families to make room for commercial enterprises.

With that issue settled in court earlier this year, officials said the time is now right to resurrect the citywide plan and seek the support of the school districts.

“We are making a 30-year commitment to quality public education in this city,” City Manager David N. Ream said. “We think that’s the most important ingredient to successful neighborhoods.”

Mayor Daniel H. Young added: “It’s not going to be the end-all solution, but we want to help them (the school districts) with the funding to provide first-class facilities.”

Most council members said improved schools would make Santa Ana a more desireable place to live, resulting in the preservation of neighborhoods.

Councilwoman Patricia A. McGuigan pointed to other redevelopment efforts that improved the appearance of downtown.

“When I first got on the council (in 1981), people would say, ‘How can you even go down there?’ ” she said.

While Ream and Young said education projects would be the focal point of the program, Nelson said each taxing jurisdiction would receive its share of the redevelopment revenue.

According to Nelson, the city would get 24 cents of each additional tax dollar raised; the Santa Ana Unified School District would receive 27 cents; Garden Grove Unified would get 6 cents, and Rancho Santiago Community College District would receive 7 cents. The rest would go to the county and other taxing districts.

The Santa Ana school district--which serves 80% of the city--the Garden Grove district and the college district have been asked to submit “wish lists” of projects that could be funded through the program.

School officials have been invited to meet with the City Council in early June to hear a presentation of the plan. Neighborhood organizations will be asked to participate in the planning, which is expected to take 18 months.

Some ideas tentatively discussed include developing school playgrounds that could also be used as public parks to help the city increase open space; building new schools, and possibly shifting school district boundaries.

Rudy M. Castruita, superintendent of Santa Ana schools--whose district has had a 14% increase in students since 1989--said he is eager to see what the city has to offer, given the budget crunch facing the district.

“There’s no question about that,” he said. “We are looking forward to pursuing the redevelopment issue with the city.”

In the Garden Grove district, which would also have to approve the redevelopment, Supt. Ed Dundon said that while there is no shortage of classroom space districtwide, the population explosion in Santa Ana has created a space crunch in the Santa Ana part of his district. About 20% of the students in Santa Ana attend Garden Grove schools.

“Would it (redevelopment) be worth it? I don’t know,” Dundon said. “For Santa Ana (the school district), it’s the only choice they have. But Garden Grove can bus the students.”