Colonia Independencia

Children play outside a boarded-up house in Colonia Independencia, an unincorporated area of Orange County bordered by Anaheim, Garden Grove and Stanton.  (Christina House / For The Times)

Mariah Branch, 3, follows along during a dance lesson at the community center. La Colonia, as the three-block neighborhood is called, gets its services from the county instead of a city, so many community resources are the result of residents’ efforts.  (Christina House / For The Times)

A group of girls participate in the dance class. Some La Colonia residents worry that the neighborhood’s character will wither if it joins Anaheim.  (Christina House / For The Times)

The girls take a break from dancing to play in the community center playground. There are also residents who want to the neighborhood to join Anaheim, believing that cityhood will help root out gang violence and blight.  (Christina House / For The Times)

Children play handball at the community center. “It’s inevitable that all that area will be part of a city,” Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle said of the unincorporated land that includes La Colonia. “It’s not going to be some island forever.”  (Christina House / For The Times)

Before new structures were built for the purpose, this building in La Colonia was used as a church and a community center. Now Anaheim-adjacent property owners in the unincorporated neighborhood can individually apply to join the city.  (Christina House / For The Times)