"Green" communities in OC? (Santa Ana, Anaheim: real estate, apartment, lawyers)

[Annie Metal]

I am shocked by the responses here. All I have seen so far is links to very expensive, and not truly green anything, other than A.V., which, is certainly out of most "green" peoples price range. Sure there may be sustainable ideals with certain folks there, but in order to live in AV, you need to have a very large income, and most people in AV I know, do not partake in "green" living whatsoever. I am assuming you are looking for more progressive types of communities? Other than paying a LOT of money to live in a "green" sustainable community, this is a very anti-liberal/progressive type of place. Orange County has more Republicans per square mile than anywhere else in the U.S..
I am one of the only "progressives" I know, out of all of my friends (who all live very different types of lifestyles, with various income levels and political views) who truly look for a "green" community here to be a part of. My finding? I am doing it alone, in a Hispanic neighborhood in the beautiful city of Orange. This are truly not alot of progressive people in OC, because here, the values are more right-leaning in just about every way. I would be happy if more people in AV made it truly a green place, but you are talking about a very small amount of people, in a very expensive place to live. People with more green or modest lifestyles tend to go elsewhere.

This is a good thread about it, kinda. //www.city-data.com/forum/orang...-west-bay.html

[IMidwestMom]

Annie Metal, thank you for your reply. I, too, was suprised that more options are not available in OC for green housing. Though as the Green Revolution is only slowly gaining mainstream acceptance which appears to me to have gained added momentum with the economic downturn, this may be a contributing factor. People are becoming more conscious but the money is not there to truly invoke the changes. It does not take much money to make many of the good changes but green homes currently cost more to build. So, developers will still build the lower cost homes that they have a better chance of selling. Much like car manufacturers not seeing the feasibility of producing cars with better gas mileage until after the oil crisis in the 70's. Yet, even that only changed mind sets to a certain degree.

AV does interest me because it appears that the community is striving to create a Green mindset. Isn't social pressure what changes most peoples thinking? : ) As well, I am seeking very good schools, safe neighborhoods, I like the proximity to the beach and the natural areas for mountain biking and hiking. And, Soka University seems to introduce some social diversity to the area.

Change has to begin somewhere and it sounds as though AV is making the first steps in that direction.

[Socalpal]

Originally Posted by Annie Metal

I am shocked by the responses here. All I have seen so far is links to very expensive, and not truly green anything, other than A.V., which, is certainly out of most "green" peoples price range. Sure there may be sustainable ideals with certain folks there, but in order to live in AV, you need to have a very large income, and most people in AV I know, do not partake in "green" living whatsoever. I am assuming you are looking for more progressive types of communities? Other than paying a LOT of money to live in a "green" sustainable community, this is a very anti-liberal/progressive type of place. Orange County has more Republicans per square mile than anywhere else in the U.S..
I am one of the only "progressives" I know, out of all of my friends (who all live very different types of lifestyles, with various income levels and political views) who truly look for a "green" community here to be a part of. My finding? I am doing it alone, in a Hispanic neighborhood in the beautiful city of Orange. This are truly not alot of progressive people in OC, because here, the values are more right-leaning in just about every way. I would be happy if more people in AV made it truly a green place, but you are talking about a very small amount of people, in a very expensive place to live. People with more green or modest lifestyles tend to go elsewhere.

This is a good thread about it, kinda. //www.city-data.com/forum/orang...-west-bay.html

Aliso Viejo on a SFR per square foot basis is one of the lowest in the county according to Dataquick's most recent numbers....


DQNews - Los Angeles Times Zip Code Chart

$217 PSF...You can get a lot of "New" house for the money...

With regards to green, the City of Anaheim is by far the most "Green" city in Orange County:

City of Anaheim - Green Connection

City of Anaheim - Green Connection

The City of Anaheim owns their own power utility and is able to implement green initiatives a lot quicker than other cities. Furthermore they will offset the cost of Solar Panels etc.

Aliso Viejo's program pales in Comparison from what I have read in this thread....There are some good areas of Anaheim in the Hills which are pretty nice.

City of Anaheim - Green Power for the Grid

This is the only city with true green initiatives in the County.

[DewDropInn]

Thanks for the Anaheim links. People think "barrio" (apparently) and throw up their hands.

Years ago when the water crisis first hit SoCal the city took a very pro-active approach. They gave out free low-flow shower heads to any city resident who asked for one. Available at City Hall and all of the libraries. Free home energy inspections from the city. Free motion detector lights so outside lights didn't have to be turned on all night long. Since they own their utilities (and have for decades) their rates are among the lowest in the state. They are absolutely on top of things as far as Green goes. (They also get a lot of their water from wells which have been very reliable for decades.)

And if you live near Disneyland you're on their grid and when the rolling black-outs hit, you aren't going to loose your power. (Disneyland will get turned off last!)

[Annie Metal]

Originally Posted by Socalpal

Aliso Viejo on a SFR per square foot basis is one of the lowest in the county according to Dataquick's most recent numbers....


DQNews - Los Angeles Times Zip Code Chart

$217 PSF...You can get a lot of "New" house for the money...

With regards to green, the City of Anaheim is by far the most "Green" city in Orange County:

City of Anaheim - Green Connection

City of Anaheim - Green Connection

The City of Anaheim owns their own power utility and is able to implement green initiatives a lot quicker than other cities. Furthermore they will offset the cost of Solar Panels etc.

Aliso Viejo's program pales in Comparison from what I have read in this thread....There are some good areas of Anaheim in the Hills which are pretty nice.

City of Anaheim - Green Power for the Grid

This is the only city with true green initiatives in the County.

Oh wow, I had no idea about Anaheim. Good to know. Thanks!

[Annie Metal]

Originally Posted by DewDropInn

Thanks for the Anaheim links. People think "barrio" (apparently) and throw up their hands.

Years ago when the water crisis first hit SoCal the city took a very pro-active approach. They gave out free low-flow shower heads to any city resident who asked for one. Available at City Hall and all of the libraries. Free home energy inspections from the city. Free motion detector lights so outside lights didn't have to be turned on all night long. Since they own their utilities (and have for decades) their rates are among the lowest in the state. They are absolutely on top of things as far as Green goes. (They also get a lot of their water from wells which have been very reliable for decades.)

And if you live near Disneyland you're on their grid and when the rolling black-outs hit, you aren't going to loose your power. (Disneyland will get turned off last!)

Very cool! This makes me want to live in Anaheim!

[DewDropInn]

One more thing about Anaheim recycling:

Three wheelie bins:
Trash
Recycle Items
Lawn and yard waste

And the recycle covers a HUGE range of items: All types of plastic, cans, bottles, plastic bags, paper, envelopes, phone books. They have a large sorting facility off of LaPalma where workers sort through everything so you don't have to.

Plus there is infomal "community" recycling. Put that couch you no longer need or want on the curb and someone will drive by and pick it up before the sun goes down. Think that BBQ grill is past it's prime? Not to a neighbor. Out to the curb it goes and 20 minutes later someone has picked it up to use or sell for scrap. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy.

[Greenspot26]

Originally Posted by DewDropInn

One more thing about Anaheim recycling:

Three wheelie bins:
Trash
Recycle Items
Lawn and yard waste

And the recycle covers a HUGE range of items: All types of plastic, cans, bottles, plastic bags, paper, envelopes, phone books. They have a large sorting facility off of LaPalma where workers sort through everything so you don't have to.

Plus there is infomal "community" recycling. Put that couch you no longer need or want on the curb and someone will drive by and pick it up before the sun goes down. Think that BBQ grill is past it's prime? Not to a neighbor. Out to the curb it goes and 20 minutes later someone has picked it up to use or sell for scrap. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy.

Community Recycling? I have never seen a couch or someone else's trash in my neighborhood....Heck my street does not even have sidewalks...I am pretty sure you are wrong about this

[IMidwestMom]

Great info about Anaheim, SoCalPal, thank you! I like the Anaheim Hills area and its schools. DewDropInn, your earlier post about Anaheim recycling I thought you were teasing about crime rates in some areas of Anaheim.

We have the all in one container recycling program and love it, super easy. The yard waste recycling simplifies life as well. Plus our utilities company also offers numerous recycling programs tied in with rebates/discounts/giveaways .... they're a great deal. This past Christmas we could recycle our old lights and receive a discount (like $4-8/set) for new LED lights. In our community many people do set items curbside for others to take ... just don't leave your yard tools unattended when doing some work near the road! Usually works great but hate to see the old chairs/couches that people don't take and the owners let them sit for too long. Do you have the Epilepsy Foundation trucks there? They're great as they will take anything (small) from the household .... you are sent a postcard stating when the trucks will be in the area and you can clean out old clothes, dishes, what-nots and box them and sit them on the curb w/the postcard attached and that's it. I believe they take larger items if you pre-schedule.

Nice to hear about the solar panel support from the utility company. Both my brother and a sister have solar panels and give them a big thumbs up. Two very different climates as well.

Anaheim Hills would be much less of a commute to work and I liked a school that I saw in the area.

What is the AH's location in relation to Disneyland? How is the summer heat situation in the Anaheim Hills area? Santa Ana winds, heavy smog gets trapped, etc.? I really liked the walking/biking trails near AV, does AH have something similar to offer? Any idea of drive time to the beach?

Saw some houses that I liked in Villa Park as well, but not so sure about the high school.

[Greenspot26]

Originally Posted by Socalpal

Aliso Viejo on a SFR per square foot basis is one of the lowest in the county according to Dataquick's most recent numbers....


DQNews - Los Angeles Times Zip Code Chart

$217 PSF...You can get a lot of "New" house for the money...

With regards to green, the City of Anaheim is by far the most "Green" city in Orange County:

City of Anaheim - Green Connection

City of Anaheim - Green Connection

The City of Anaheim owns their own power utility and is able to implement green initiatives a lot quicker than other cities. Furthermore they will offset the cost of Solar Panels etc.

Aliso Viejo's program pales in Comparison from what I have read in this thread....There are some good areas of Anaheim in the Hills which are pretty nice.

City of Anaheim - Green Power for the Grid

This is the only city with true green initiatives in the County.

I recently installed Solar Panels on my house, the city offers some ridiculously awesome incentives when installing panels. This helps make the ROI a lot more reasonable than having to bear the cost all at once.

They also have a shade tree program where they will deliver shade trees to your house, its pretty unbelievable that a city this size has the resources and programs to deliver three shade trees to every resident.

Here is a solar map that the City of Anaheim has on their site, it shows all the homes in the city with panels as well as the rooftop potential for homes and structures.

City of Anaheim - Anaheim Public Utilities

To the Original Poster I highly recommend looking at Anaheim Hills, it is the closest you will get to a green community. I was blown away by the incentives offered. Granted I live in a Mid-Century modern home with huge pains of glass (which are not very efficient), but with some of the incentives that I received from the city it made sense to replace some of the inefficient original items in the home with more energy efficient ones.

I was in your shoes about 10 months ago, I looked at a lot of cities, everything was beige and tracty. Once I found out that Anaheim was the only city in Orange County that had its own utilities and was very aggressive in rolling out its green initiatives I knew I had to live here.

A lot of people give Anaheim a bad rap, but Anaheim Hills is probably one of the most beautiful places in Southern California. I think its more out of ignorance than actual knowledge of the area.