Residents seek key to annexation

Stuck between John Wayne Airport and the cities of Costa Mesa and

Newport Beach, Loren Olson is tired of having a Santa Ana ZIP Code.

He and many of his neighbors in unincorporated West Santa Ana

Heights wish officials would work things out, so their properties can

be annexed to one of the two cities, preferably Newport Beach.

“I would rather be annexed at some point soon by either [city]

than remain in an unincorporated part of the county,” Olson said.

Newport annexed East Santa Ana Heights in 2003 and is on the verge

of applying to annex the western half of the neighborhood. Residents

plan to meet tonight to ask Newport-Mesa officials why it’s taking so

long.

But it won’t be as simple as Newport Beach petitioning the Local

Agency Formation Commission, which approves annexations in Orange

County.

In fact, West Santa Ana Heights and two adjacent unincorporated

areas -- the Santa Ana Country Club and an area south of Mesa Drive

between Irvine and Santa Ana avenues -- have been the subject of a

tug-of-war for more than two years.

Those areas have for years been part of Costa Mesa’s “sphere of

influence,” which means officials expected them eventually to become

part of the city.

Costa Mesa tried to annex the areas, but residents protested in

2002, blocking the change. Now the city is willing to consider

letting West Santa Ana Heights go because it’s part of a larger

community, half of which is in Newport, Costa Mesa City Manager Allan

Roeder said.

But that will just fuel other areas that want to break away, such

as the Santa Ana Country Club, which is bordered on three sides by

Costa Mesa, Roeder said.

“It literally takes an entire chunk out of the east side of town

and bifurcates one part of the community from the rest,” he said. “It

makes no sense for continuity of service; it’s bad land-use planning;

and it’s totally inconsistent with what state law calls for.”

Both cities early this year agreed to form a “borders committee”

to discuss the annexation, but so far it hasn’t met.

In a nutshell, Costa Mesa’s not ready to give up any more than

West Santa Ana Heights, but residents could use a protest vote to

block any annexation accord the two cities might make.

For Newport officials, the annexation is tied up with a bundle of

other issues they’re negotiating with the county, including more

control over John Wayne Airport, Newport Beach Assistant City Manager

Dave Kiff said.

The city already is handling projects, such as a community center

and a fire station, that are being paid for with Santa Ana Heights’

$30 million redevelopment fund, and the city is in talks with the

county about taking over management of the fund.

While the bureaucratic negotiations drag on, some West Santa Ana

Heights residents, such as Judy DeVine, are growing more impatient.

DeVine planned to make buttons for people to wear to tonight’s

meeting that read “Annex to Newport now.” She wants to join Newport

Beach, she said, because the city fought to limit capacity at John

Wayne Airport and get an airport built at El Toro. West Santa Ana

Heights is in John Wayne’s flight path.

But she also doesn’t want to see the unique area she lives in get

split up.

“We all feel like part of the same community, and to have our

community split down the middle -- half Costa Mesa, half Newport

Beach -- doesn’t seem right,” DeVine said.

IF YOU GO

* WHAT: Community meeting on annexation of West Santa Ana Heights

* WHEN: 6:30 p.m. today

* WHERE: Peter & Mary Muth Interpretive Center, 2301 University

Drive, Newport Beach

* INFO: o7www.sahpac.comf7