![]() ![]() One of the biggest worries for nearly all the residents of the community was that law enforcement would not keep up with the rapid pace of development. Jack Leonard, a member of the Rancho Santa Margarita Civic Council, said the bankruptcy sparked fears that the county was mishandling the unincorporated areas and that services would decline even further as the county struggled to regain financial solvency. The question of whether the city was receiving adequate services from the county was even more pressing after the county’s declaration of bankruptcy on Dec. “There is a certain maturity that a community reaches, and when you realize that as a community you are generating so much money you begin asking where is the money going and is it going toward services,” said Carol Gamble, another candidate who was a member of the cityhood committee. By 1995, according to Thompson, the community had reached a level of financial viability that made it sensible to begin looking into becoming an independent city. Gary Thompson, a member of the Rancho Santa Margarita Cityhood Committee and one of the 14 candidates for City Council, said the master-planned community was always designed to become self-sustaining. When it became clear that the super city was not only unpopular but a fiscal impossibility, community leaders in Rancho decided to strike out on their own. Rancho Santa Margarita’s drive for cityhood began in earnest in 1995 after the failure of the proposed “super city,” a conglomeration of nearly every unincorporated community from Las Flores to Coto de Caza. If cityhood passes, the top five finishers would become council members. Tuesday’s ballot also will include a list of City Council candidates, mostly political greenhorns-a drug-abuse counselor, a submarine maintenance manager, an officer with the county marshal’s office. If approved, Rancho Santa Margarita would officially become a city on Jan. The cityhood campaign faces no organized opposition, and local public opinion surveys have shown that the proposal has overwhelming support. The city would be home to more than 40,000 residents and would include the communities of Rancho Santa Margarita, Dove Canyon, Robinson Ranch, Trabuco Highlands, Walden and Rancho Cielo. On Tuesday, voters will be asked to decide whether Rancho Santa Margarita will become the county’s 33rd municipality. ![]()
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