Before any Stanton jokes, understand that its residents have done what few communities could pull off – they voted themselves a sales tax increase.
Yes, this community has so much pride, so much moxie that in November voters chose to have the highest sales tax in the county. And already the desperately needed revenue is changing Orange County’s poorest – and scrappiest – city.
The placard on the visitor’s counter at Stanton City Hall captures this comeback story. It says that by boosting sales tax from 8 percent to 9 percent, the city has restored personnel to handle 911 calls.
To survive, the city cut deep into bone. And to keep the city in the black, the formula is simple: The city has only 28 full-time staff and watches dollars by contracting out as much as possible, including law enforcement, fire and ambulance service.
But even during the city’s worst days, residents rose up to save their city. And not just Boy Scout types.
Without getting anything more than sweat, Barrios rode atop a mower and cut the lawn in Hollenbeck Park, a 10-acre swath of land.
That decision revealed a lot, considering that Stanton has thousands of residents who live in apartments and has one of the densest populations in the county.
How dense? Mission Viejo spreads 96,000 residents over nearly 18 square miles. Stanton packs more than 38,000 people into 3.1 square miles.
In his office off Beach Boulevard and Katella Avenue – two of the county’s busiest thoroughfares – City Manager Jim Box admits, “For seven years we were not able to balance the budget.”
Box points to a newly created strategic plan for the city, emphasizing such goals as providing a safe community, a strong local economy, transparent government. As Box talks, he details the focus – and bringing the plans to fruition.
Transparency? On Stanton’s website, you can easily find the curious (the city flower is bird of paradise) and the serious (the city budget, which totals nearly $34 million).
Safe? The littlest city that can – thanks to the sales tax increase – also has added a code enforcer and two part-time “park rangers.”
The rangers are not sworn officers and don’t carry firearms. Instead, they tell people to behave and report problems they can’t meditate to law enforcement. In the past 12 months, rangers handled 1,248 incidents and interactions.
But Box says a $1.5 million crime-prevention grant, two neighborhood injunctions preventing gang members from associating and efforts by Orange County Sheriff’s deputies have decreased property crimes.
Violent crimes are holding steady. Stanton had 1,661 property crimes five years ago, according to Lt. Jim England, chief of police, and last year that dropped to 1,095.
Dotson Park’s makeover boasts state-of-the-art play equipment and includes a mock pirate ship. Veterans Memorial Park is beautifully landscaped with drought-resistant plants. And once it’s completed, the new Stanton Central Park should boast sports fields, a skate park, tennis courts, a water feature for children and a rec center.
Park Avenue restaurant features steaks and chops and has a sterling reputation in the city, although the Register’s food critic takes exception. The restaurant also has a four-star recommendation on Yelp with more than 700 reviews.
Straddling the Stanton-Anaheim border, historic and funky Hobby City covers nearly 12 acres with a down-home mix of shops hawking everything from baseball cards to model cars, as well as a doll and toy museum.
Adventure City, next to Hobby City, offers thrills for wee ones. Box mentions he recently took his niece and reports a cozy, safe, secure atmosphere perfect for a child learning to venture out.
City Of StantonSure, Adventure City is no Disney California Adventure. But that’s part of its charm. Among other things, Adventure City includes a petting farm, a roller-coaster, a carousel, as well as firetruck, plane and balloon rides.
Still, Stanton can’t get the respect it deserves. Adventure City – within Stanton’s boundaries – lists its address as Anaheim.
Stanton Park is a designed cultural landscape located in northeast Washington, D.C., between 6th Street NE to the east and 4th Street NE to the west. The park was created as part of the implementation of the L'Enfant Plan for the City of Washington, and it has been a public park since the first improvements to the area in the 1870s.
The situation of these Squares is such that they are the most advantageously and reciprocally seen from each other... Pierre L'Enfant, in HABS DC-686, 1993
In 1791, the District Commissioners acquired undeveloped land that is now Stanton Park as part of the right-of-way for the city's street and avenue system. The area was not fenced off as a public park until 1867, and in 1871 it became known as Stanton Square after Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton.
Soon after, Congress authorized a statue of Revolutionary general Nathanael Greene, which was erected in the park in 1878. The park featured formal flower beds among winding paths. After a 1933 redesign, the landscape was altered to reinforce the central focal point of the park, with formal walkways and a more sparsely planted landscape.
Although modifications were made to the site furnishings, vegetation, and central walkways in the 1960s, most of the significant landscape characteristics were retained (circulation, views and vistas, and spatial organization). In these ways, the park still appears as it did during the latest period of significance (1877-1933) when the present alignment of most of the walkways were constructed.
