- NEWS
- Cold air follows hard rain 3 hours & 3 minutes ago
- Sheriff candidates show their colors at debate 2 hours & 12 minutes ago
- Suspect in MySpace scheme admitted to 'being sick' 3 hours & 56 minutes ago
- Supervisors approve deputy union deal
- SPORTS
- BUSINESS
- ENTERTAINMENT
- LIFE
- TRAVEL
- OPINION
Villa Park: Should there be a park?
October 17th, 2009, 10:15 am · 22 Comments · posted by EUGENE W. FIELDS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Villa Park officials are taking steps to determine if residents want the first park in the county’s smallest city.
City Manager Lori Sassoon said the city won a $4,000 grant from a nonprofit agency and received $1,000 from the Villa Park Community Services Foundation to survey the city’s 6,200 residents.
The Villa Park Community Services Foundation, a volunteer organization that raises funds for annual activities, formed a committee to explore the feasibility of a park.
Keith Martin, heading up the exploratory committee, said he hopes for a response from at least 20 percent of the city’s adult residents.
Martin said foundation members have talked about a park for a while.
The foundation is considering going door-to-door, conducting a community survey and other methods to gather input.
“That’s really what that grant is for, to get citizen involvement going,” Martin said. “It would be great if we got 30-40 percent response, but that’s a high percent.”
Another issue is where a park could go.
Sassoon said that nearly 100 percent of the city is built out, but there are options.
“There are a number of sites around the city for consideration,” she said. “There is no site that’s been identified. There are possibilities, but they’re fairly limited.”
Both Sassoon and Martin believe the possibility of a resident donating or selling land for a park is more than reasonable.
“People in Villa Park are fairly unique,” Sassoon said. “I don’t know if there is anyone who might be willing to do that, but it wouldn’t surprise me.”
Sassoon said she expects the information-gathering process to be finished by the end of the year. The City Council will make a decision on whether or not to push forward.
To see how cities across the country compare concerning the amount of park space, click here.
Reader Comments
Comments are encouraged, but you must follow our User Agreement.- Keep it civil and stay on topic.
- No profanity, vulgarity, racial slurs or personal attacks.
- People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked.
22 Comments
-
ADVERTISEMENT
-
-
Latest Orange city news:- Upcoming Orange city events:
- Event: 16th Annual Orange Plaza Car Show at Old Towne Orange Plaza, Sun, Apr 18 8:00a
- Event: Hope-N-Mic Open Mic Night at The Honest Lawyer, Sat, Feb 20 7:00p
- Event: 34th Annual Old Towne Orange Antique Affair at Old Towne Orange Plaza, Sat, Feb 13 10:00a
- Event: Bus Stop in repertory with Hedda Gabler at Waltmar Theatre, Chapman University, Fri, Feb 12 8:00p
- Event: Costa Rica Giveaway at Manhattan Steak & Seafood, Fri, Feb 12 3:00p
-
ADVERTISEMENT
Meet the bloggers and contact them
Follow us on Twitter
Yippee! Some place for teens to hang out and night and smoke (dope).
Aren’t you just a ray of sunshine.
Villa Park might be a tiny city, but most of the residents are R-I-C-H. Its not like its the little engine that could.
Villa Park-ians are not “Park” people. They are “Block Wall & Fence People”, mostly Block Walls. The garage door goes up, the garage door goes down and they stay behind their beloved, slump-faced, split-faced, faux-rock, block walls. Actually drive around and take in all the concrete, wow. Perhaps the study should examine changing the name of the City to “La Valla Park” the park of fences.
This park will bring nothing but drugs and prostitution to our community.
Bad idea..we live up the street from villa park.and next to a park in our neighborhood off apache st..when you have a park there you will then start getting people from other areas that you dont want there with there low life familys taking over rest rooms with black markers at night people hanging out,it sucks its by your house but you cant use it because the scum bags find it or here about it and its a safe place to get away from the hommies for a while and not get shot..Bad idea.keep villa park like it is unless latter you say that was bad a bad idea
You gotta love it. Orange County is about the only place I’ve ever been to or lived in that a park is considered a bad idea. “Hell NO! I don’t want a park in my town! Down with community! Down with nature! Down with getting to know my neighbors!”
Its not your neighbor your worried about..they dont mess up the park.you got it wrong.its those who dont even live in that city and dont want to use there parks where they live so they drive up to where you live and destroy yours where you pay the taxes for..then the park becomes just like theres marked up.tables craved into.gang writting on the walls and sidewalk..you want that next to your house? so jose can come down on the weekends stay allday jack up the park then drive back down to santa ana or L.A saying how the marked up our park..wake up..go to Irvine after the weekend and see what the markers have done 10 yrs ago not like that…
it seems a little bit weird trying to squeeze a park into the city limits, but it is also pretty funny that a place called Villa Park doesn’t have a single park.
and we park on driveways and drive on parkways… go figure…!
Steve Smith.
You are sure a happy individual. if people choose to live like that what business is it of yours? Envy is looking at someone elses life and realizing how much your’s sucks.
Ralphie, I grew up there. My mom still lives there. I now live on Pelican Hill, it doesn’t suck that bad.
LOL. With the anonymity the internet provides you can grow up and live anywhere you want such as Villa Park and Pelican Hill.
I grew up in Villa Park on the hill and now live in Pelican Hill in the bigger house, so there. Last week I leased an even better car than your Land Rover.
Come on now Mr. Smith, don’t be embarassed about your Stanton home.
Nope, on Ludwig St. in VP, it’s flat. Now on Sailview. Sorry, no Land Rover, although I like them. Bunch a Sensitive Sallies on here. LOL Have fun in “La Valla Park”, see you on Halloween, (no-one trick or treats in our hood)
are there Pelicans? is there actually a Hill?
makes you wonder
We have both
$5,000 to survey 20% of the adult population of a town of 6,200 total residents!? 25% of VP’s population is children under 18 so we talking about roughly 900 people in the survey. There are 1,950 households in Villa Park. If they want 20% of adults in the city to respond, then send half of those households a letter with a survey and return postage. Printing of a letter, mailing the letter with return postage for 975 houses would cost roughly $2,500. Then spend some money compiling the surveys and putting it into a pretty Excel file for the city council and you’re still looking at roughly at $1,750 profit! Man, I am in the wrong business.
The houses in Villa Park have park-like yards.
Indeed. From Wikipedia: “There are no public parks within the city limits. Many homes have pools or tennis courts, or both. Villa Park has winding streets, no sidewalks, nor any street lights. There are many trees and flowers planted that contribute to a rural, green ambience.”
I edited that article once just to help clean it up. pretty poorly written mess, was the only reason it even caught my eye. gotta do what you can.
I live in Anaheim Hills, and I can tell you from experience it is true the Anaheim Hills parks are taken over by people who do not live in Anaheim Hills. If I lived in Villa Park, I would oppose this idea.
I live in Pelican hill, what street you live on?
Villa Park Wins 1st place for
“Most lineal feet of block walls per square mile!”
from NACM “National Association of Concrete Manufacturers”
and an honorable mention for overcoming sewer odors with new sewer covers.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_N_-W1PmSNqg/R4rY_cC7bRI/AAAAAAAADSg/uXlD8TQrlQY/s400/1987+June+25+-+Rambling+in+Villa+Park.jpg