Orange Keeps Missing the Easy Wins — And It’s Starting to Show

For a city that keeps saying it wants “economic vitality,” Orange has a bad habit of slamming the door on exactly the kind of businesses that could bring it.

Twice now, the city has lost out on modern entertainment concepts on the West side of town — a golf-simulator lounge and, separately, a racing-simulator venue — because our permitting requirements are stuck somewhere between 1995 and a filing cabinet that no one has opened since. Both applicants walked after discovering the maze of outdated definitions, mismatched use categories, and discretionary hoops that make Orange one of the hardest cities in the county for anything that isn’t food, alcohol, or vintage retail.

These weren’t bars. They weren’t nightclubs. They weren’t land-use risks. They were clean, low-impact entertainment businesses with proven track records in other cities. The kind of places families, young professionals, and students actually spend money on. The kind of uses that generate foot traffic, fill dead storefronts, and bring life into commercial corridors without the late-night problems that the city constantly complains about.

And yet Orange’s zoning code still treats a golf simulator like it’s some kind of undefined novelty that needs special vetting, studies, and conditional use processes that drag out for months. Same story for the racing simulator project — a harmless retail-entertainment hybrid that most cities approve over the counter.

When a city is financially comfortable, it can afford to be picky. Orange is not in that position. We’re already behind on revenue compared to neighboring cities, and we’re dealing with structural budget issues that will only get worse. Turning away viable businesses because our code can’t keep up with the calendar isn’t just a missed opportunity — it’s self-inflicted harm.

There’s also a reputational cost. Word spreads fast among entrepreneurs. If the takeaway is, “Orange is too hard to work with,” those businesses simply go elsewhere. They don’t fight it — they leave. And the vacant storefronts stay vacant.

This isn’t about chasing every trend. It’s about acknowledging that the entertainment market has changed, and residents want more than just bars, restaurants, and antique shops. Simulator lounges are thriving in cities across California because they fit the modern demand: small footprint, diverse customer base, and year-round usability. Orange could have had two of them. Instead, our rigid, outdated permitting structure pushed both away.

If the city wants economic growth, it needs to start acting like it. That means modernizing the code, streamlining approvals for low-impact entertainment, and recognizing that we can’t keep saying “no” to new ideas while complaining about declining revenue.

The future is already here. Orange just needs to stop turning it away at the counter.