Next summer, Aliso Viejo will celebrate its 20th anniversary as an incorporated city. The area became Orange County’s 34th city on July 1st, 2001, and had a population of just over 40,000 people at the time. It was the first planned community in California to map out and design a balance between its projected resident workforce and the number of jobs within its borders. Carol Tagayun provides more information regarding our city’s history:
“As of July 1st, 2001, Aliso Viejo has already hired staff, drafted a 2-year budget, located space for a City Hall, and begun to draft its general plan. Woollett, a veteran of many years of public policymaking, and who worked 30 years ago in the startup of the City of Irvine, joked that he is now being employed by a City Council, whose average age is that of his children, rather than his peers. They certainly represent their community, however, which is also extremely youthful. He went on to say that this City Council had long been involved in community and cityhood efforts, and their experience has allowed me to learn the issues facing their community through experienced eyes.
Woollett drew parallels between advantages enjoyed by Irvine and Aliso Viejo at startup by virtue of their being planned communities. With build-out expected at 18,000 to 20,000 housing units, it is most important that we come up, early on, with the draft of a general plan. This draft will be presented at a number of community meetings, and we hope that residents will come to these meetings, and ‘blue sky’ their ideas of what Aliso Viejo should be.
In response to a question regarding the economic health of the new City, Mayor Vali replied that while there is some concern regarding the continued viability of some of the dot com companies located in Aliso Viejo, Housing prices continue to rise, and it is impossible to get a seat in an Aliso Viejo restaurant on Friday or Saturday nights without a reservation. Both of these things tell us a lot that is positive about our city.
Chamber business owners and possible future business owners were encouraged by Mayor Vali’s statement that the present budget wasn’t built on the income from issuing business licenses. In thanking the Governmental Affairs Committee for hosting them, Woollett indicated that he would advise the new city council to form a close relationship with the South County Chamber, as the Chamber’s importance to the city would be hard to overstate. ‘In my experience, there is no elected official immune to letters and visits about their issues from Chamber members.’”
Join the Aliso Viejo Chamber of Commerce
The Aliso Viejo Chamber of Commerce is committed to cultivating a diverse group of member organizations that represent all industries present in the Aliso Viejo community of Orange County, California. If you’re considering becoming a member, we encourage you to read about the benefits that come with our membership. We’d love to have you join us!