Rowland Heights and cityhood

Bethania Palma reports that a group of strong-willed residents are pushing for cityhood in Rowland Heights, which has not yet seen an election to incorporate.

My gut tells me that they won’t be able to get the support they are looking for. After all, next-door neighboor Hacienda Heights tried and failed in 2003 to get incorporated.

Rowland Heights is a community of nearly 48,000. The Rowland Heights Coomunity Coordinating Council – the closest they have to a City Council meeting – meets once a month, and usually attracts between 50 and 75 people. They are hoping that if they can incorporate, Rowland Heights could get a handle on development in its own city as well as have a stronger voice in developments in neighboring cities.

But it seems they will have a hard time convincing people that this won’t hit the pockets.

An underlying theme — whether it’s right or wrong, I can’t say — in many communities is change is bad, and I doubt that the community activists will be successful in getting support for their cause, even if the ends would be better.