1959-60 – Incorporation/annexation fever sweep through Los Al, Rossmoor again

Sep. 17, 1959 – Feisty SRO Rossmoor crowd discuss, insult Los Alamitos incorporation

SEP 17, 1959 – Enterprise

A feisty, standing-room-only crowd at Rossmoor School… discuss Los Alamitos planned incorporation efforts.
Bill Brown from Chamber speaks…
Some residents cry for boycott — “if a merchant says he’s a member of the Los Al chamber, don’t do business with him.”
The crowd suffered “evident embarrassment and indignation” when one Rossmoor resident said he rarely went through Los Alamitos, always approaching from the south, but when he recently entered from the north, the town looked like a Santanna (Santa Ana wind) had hit it; and that the buildings were in need of paint.”
Resident Arthur Miller then spoke, criticizing the conduct of some of the people.  They had asked Mr. Brown here as a guest to answer questions and we have been insulting and rude.”  he felt their conduct was deplorable.

His “request for an apology was greeted with a long ovation.”

RHA Redoubles Efforts to get Rossmoor excluded from Los Alamitos incorporation

OCT 15, 1959 (Enterprise) — RHA “doubles” efforts to get Rossmoor excluded from proposed city of Los Alamitos.
Developer Ross Cortese is reportedly backing the movement.
Barbara Miller, a petition circulator says she has been encountering reluctance from homeowners because of the phrase “the fiscal and economic problems of Rossmoor residents are not in line with those of Los Alamitos.”  A motion to strike the phrase from future petitions did not carry.

Drawing animated discussion was a resident’s report that not only had he suffered a broken water pipe under his house, but nine of his nearby neighbors had as well.  The RHA planned to look into the thoroughness of FHA inspections during the construction process and into the builder’s obligations as well.

 

OCT 29, 1959 – The Enterprise reports the annual taxes paid in each local community per each $100 valuation.

Rossmoor……………….. $8.07
Los Alamitos…………….  8.75
Cypress (city)……………  8.80
Cypress (county)……….. 8.04
Dairyland (La Palma)….. 8.79

county portion of that tax……..3.04

 

NOV 3, 1959 – The Enterprise reports that Garden Grove is attempting to get the Navy to object to being included in the Los Alamitos incorporation effort.

 

NOVEMBER – Items discussed at the RHA November meeting.
Rossmoor Center will be started in January 1960. (Confirmed tenants are Food Giant, while contingent tenants are Kress, Citizens Bank, and gas stations operated the Tidewater and Union Oil companies.
Developer Harry Rinker says if he gets county approval on Nov. 17 he will begin construction of Los Alamitos Plaza (present Von’s Center) within weeks.  Thriftimart is the major tenant for this center.
The Traffic Committee (headed by Harold Wells) reported that a traffic signal at Bradbury and Los Al Blvd. was slated to be installed  in April 1960.
Paul Erskine and Leo Godman-Malamuth said they had obtained 2,300 names on a petition to be excluded from Los Alamitos planned incorporation efforts.

Dec 10, 1959 – Rossmoor Incorporation Papers filed — include present Rossmoor Highlands, Target Center, Old Ranch CC, CPE and Leisure World

DEC 10, 1959 — The Enterprise reports that papers are filed as the first step to incorporate Rossmoor into a new 7,000 acre city that would stretch from Cerritos Avenue on the north to the southern boundary of the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station — include land that now part of the Rossmoor Highlands, College Park East, Westpark in Garden Grove and all of Seal Beach down to Westminster and a good chunk of the Navy Weapons Station south of Westminster, as well.  (map is shown in Dec. 31 issue)
Present at the filing were future California Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas, Leo Goodman-Malamuth and Paul Erskine.
The two main items on a meeting of the Rossmoor Homeowners Association will be the incorporation of Rossmoor, and the consideration of a site for a new Rossmoor Junior High School, according to RHA President Malcolm Lucas..

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