If you haven’t heard, the Los Alamitos City Council is taking steps to annex the Rossmoor Shopping Village, the adjacent church and Rossmoor Apartments.
It would not be surprising if you did not know this yet, since the Los Alamitos City Council has not held any public hearings (other than the rushed Planning Commission hearing on Monday, Aug. 22 on pre-zoning of this area).
The Los Alamitos City Council is preceding as rapidly as possible and without providing any explanation of the alleged benefits of this unilateral action to the residents, owners and tenants in this area and without explaining the effects on their own Los Alamitos residents or Rossmoor residents.
In reaction to Los Alamitos City Council’s announced plans, we have formed a wholly volunteer committee, the Rossmoor Preservation Committee, unaffiliated with the Rossmoor Homeowners Association or the Rossmoor Community Services District.
The Rossmoor Homeowners Association was kind enough to allow us to use the e-mail address rpc@rossmoor-rha.org (all emails are forwarded directly to the RPC) and their phone and P.O. Box until we can set up our own, but otherwise we receive no support and no funds from the RHA.
Some, like the author of the “Rossmoorgate” column that appears periodically in the Sun, believe that the RPC is just “attempting another run at cityhood.”
Nothing could be further from the truth. The only mission of the RPC is to keep Rossmoor Shopping Village and the adjacent parcels in Rossmoor where they belong.
The RPC does not support incorporation; it wants to preserve Rossmoor as it is. On our committee are community leaders like Jim Alexander and Del Clark.
And the misguided author of “Rossmoorgate” has her facts all wrong.
The businesses generate $385,000 in annual sales tax and property tax in lieu of sales tax revenue as of the FY2008. And they generate significant additional property tax revenue.
If Los Alamitos annexes these properties, it gets a windfall in additional revenue, and the Orange County General Fund, which pays for Rossmoor municipal services and funds the RCSD, would lose these revenues. If Los Alamitos is successful in this annexation, it would not be surprising to see Rossmoor services reduced or fees increased.
But now is not the time for Rossmoor to be divided. Now is the time for us to come together and preserve our community. The Rossmoor Shopping Village businesses and the residents of the Rossmoor Apartments are key parts of our community. What can you do? We’d encourage you to patronize the businesses in the Rossmoor Shopping Village and tell the store manager you are from Rossmoor and you want to keep their business in Rossmoor. And, if you want to keep Rossmoor Shopping Village, the Church and the Rossmoor Apartments in Rossmoor, you can join the RPC. There is no fee. Just send us an e-mail at rpc@rossmoor-rha.org.
Eric Christensen is a longtime Rossmoor resident and a member of the Rossmoor Preservation Committee.
