Despite protest, Costa Mesa wants Heights

Noaki Schwartz

COSTA MESA -- City officials said they will continue to pursue annexing

Santa Ana Heights despite residents’ announcement on Tuesday that they

would prefer instead to be a part of Newport Beach.

Since 1996, Costa Mesa has been steadily working on annexing the Heights

and other unincorporated areas, said Allan Roeder, city manager. This is

in part because “the county has indicated that they want to get out of

the business of providing municipal services,” he said.

“The bottom line is that the city’s efforts to annex Santa Ana Heights or

any other area is not being done for economic purposes,” Roeder said.

Santa Ana Heights residents’ resistance to Costa Mesa marks the second

unincorporated area that has openly protested being annexed into the

city. Residents of the Hines Kaiser High School and Back Bay neighborhood

have written letters to council members saying they do not want to be

part of Costa Mesa, but would prefer to remain unincorporated.

Although residents can protest the annexation process and let Costa Mesa

City Council members know how they feel, in the end it is the county

Local Agency Formation Commission that decides whether the boundaries

will change.

However, the state-appointed body that governs annexations generally

considers a city’s interests over the unincorporated areas, said Dave

Kiff, Newport’s deputy city manager.

In the case of Santa Ana Heights, although wanting a unified community is

a reasonable argument to be released from Costa Mesa, Roeder said the

commission will put a lot of weight on basic issues such as delivery of

services.

This applies to the Back Bay areas as well. Those residents said their

main concerns are loss of their neighborhood’s character and lower

property values.

“[The commission] will have to look at the nuts and bolts and dollars and

cents of it,” Roeder said.

He added that despite how it may appear, the issue of communities

choosing Newport Beach over Costa Mesa will not cause any conflicts

between the two neighboring cities.

“We’ve been working right along with Newport throughout our end of the

process,” he said.

Newport Beach will consider filing an annexation application that will

include its half of Santa Ana Heights on Monday. Residents protesting

Costa Mesa’s annexation said they will be at the meeting circulating

petitions.

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