Those who led the push for cityhood in Lake Forest in the late 1980s and early ’90s envisioned a town where families would flock and residents would feel tight-knit and included, with community centers and holiday celebrations to bring people together.
Now, 30 years later, “I think we fulfilled that vision,” said Helen Wilson, Lake Forest’s first mayor, who helped usher efforts to incorporate the city in 1991.
“I never thought it would be as beautiful as it has become,” she said.
On Saturday, ’90s music thumped outside the Lake Forest Civic Center – an ode to the city’s earlier days – as residents gathered to celebrate the town’s birthday and the holiday season with carnival games, a scavenger hunt and activities for kids such as a rock climbing wall and an inflatable obstacle course. At the end of the evening, the city hosted a holiday tree lighting ceremony.
It was the first event of its kind held at the Civic Center since it opened in December 2019, city spokesman Jonathan Volzke said. For the city’s early leaders, who wanted a community hub where families and friends could gather, the four-building campus with government offices, a community policing center, a senior center, a community center and a theater, is that dream realized, Wilson said. It has been dubbed the city’s 100-year home.
Before Lake Forest was incorporated, the area was part of unincorporated Orange County and made up of dozens of homeowners associations, many with great amenities, but only to be used by the residents who lived there, Wilson said.
“We just felt that we want a community that will always stand by each other and work on regional issues together, and develop a place within the city where people and families can get together … to enjoy seasonal holidays,” Wilson said.
Wilson, who served on the City Council for 14 years, helped lead the grassroots efforts to gain cityhood, including collecting petition signatures and survey responses outside grocery stores, she said. After one unsuccessful drive in the late ’80s, it took many residents coming together to make it happen, Wilson said, noting “every aspect of the community was involved,” including PTAs and churches.
Residents of what was then the community of El Toro were feeling frustrated at the time about a seeming lack of local control over issues that impacted them.
“It just seemed that there were issues facing the community that were being handled, and decisions made, by the county on our behalf,” Wilson said of residents who were unified over concerns about the Musick jail expansion and increased traffic that came with the more development in the area.
“We had to go to Santa Ana, you know, talk to the Board of Supervisors for anything,” she said.
It took about two years to successfully apply for and gain cityhood. Lake Forest, which was officially formed in December 1991, was among a wave of communities in south Orange County that were incorporating during that time. In 2000, its boundaries were extended to include the Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills communities.
“I look back and think, ‘Holy cow, how did we do all this?’” Wilson said. “We were raising families or, you know, people were setting up businesses or working and raising our kids, and then just trying to set up the community. It was a lot.”
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