LOSING OUR STATIONS

If you have the feeling it’s getting harder to find a service station when you need one, it may not be entirely your imagination. During the last five years, the county has lost 14% of such stations, with the percentage being even higher in some cities. Only Irvine had more service stations during the first quarter of 1988 (the most recent period for which information is available) than it did in 1983. Here’s a look at what has happened in individual cities:

Jan.-March % Change, City 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1983-’88 Anaheim 117 120 121 133 142 143 -18 Brea 16 14 15 16 17 16 N/C Buena Park 28 28 29 31 31 33 -15 Costa Mesa 54 52 53 59 59 61 -11 Cypress 15 15 16 16 16 18 -17 Fountain Valley 34 37 37 38 36 36 -6 Fullerton 48 50 53 53 56 61 -21 Garden Grove 63 66 67 75 76 79 -20 Huntington Beach 72 69 70 65 72 75 -4 Irvine 18 19 18 18 16 16 +13 Laguna Beach 9 11 9 8 10 10 -10 La Habra 26 26 22 25 28 26 N/C Los Alamitos 8 5 N/A N/A 6 9 -11 Newport Beach 28 29 27 30 33 32 0 -13 Orange 58 57 62 67 74 72 -19 Placentia 15 16 17 18 19 17 -12 San Clemente 22 22 22 24 25 22 N/C San Juan Capistrano 10 11 11 11 11 10 N/C Santa Ana 109 111 112 116 125 130 -16 Seal Beach 13 13 13 14 13 13 N/C Stanton 13 12 18 15 15 17 -24 Tustin 28 28 27 29 29 30 -7 Westminster 36 37 38 39 43 44 -18 Yorba Linda 12 14 N/A N/A N/A N/A ---

Note: Comparable information for Mission Viejo and unincorporated areas not available.

N/A: Information not available

N/C: No change

SERVICE STATION ECONOMICS Although economic activity at the county’s service stations was virtually flat between the first half of 1987 and the first half of 1988 (the most recent period for which information is available), there was a wide range of change from city to city. Cypress, Laguna Beach and Yorba Linda all recorded at least 20% increases, while Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley had similar decreases. Following are the taxable sales for the first half of both years and the percentage change, with amounts reported in thousands of dollars:

(In thousands of dollars)

Jan.-June Jan.-June % Change City Sales, 1988 Sales, 1987 1987-’88 Cypress $12,143 $7,151 +70 Laguna Beach 5,455 4,122 +32 Yorba Linda 5,694 4,495 +27 Anaheim 79,385 72,120 +10 Newport Beach 14,466 13,409 +8 Fullerton 28,648 26,892 +7 Brea 7,831 7,311 +7 Buena Park 14,809 14,106 +5 Orange 34,345 32,784 +5 San Clemente 12,037 11,415 +5 Garden Grove 31,402 30,567 +3 Westminster 21,275 20,711 +3 Stanton 6,602 6,475 +2 Santa Ana 56,897 56,445 +1 Costa Mesa 25,785 25,661 * Irvine 17,047 17,645 -3 La Habra 10,521 10,823 -3 San Juan Capistrano 7,024 7,295 -4 Tustin 15,939 16,662 -4 Seal Beach 7,120 7,989 -11 Los Alamitos 2,057 2,356 -13 Placentia 7,181 8,323 -14 Fountain Valley 14,616 18,824 -22 Huntington Beach 42,359 63,576 -33 ALL CITIES 551,013 551,509 *

*Comparable information for Dana Point, La Palma, Mission Viejo and Villa Park not available

* Less than 1%

DISAPPEARING SERVICE IN ORANGE COUNTY 1983: 1,065 1984: 1,050 1985: 1,003 1986: 963 1987: 951 *1988: 913 * As of July 1, 1988 Source: State Board of Equalization