Annexation could be delayed

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- The proposed annexation of Newport Coast could be

delayed for six months after city officials decided to draft state

legislation to guarantee the construction of 825 more homes in the area.

The move is expected to push back the tentative annexation date from

July to January 2002, unless the legislature accepts the proposal as an

urgency bill, which would become effective immediately after the governor

signs it and could let the annexation go ahead as planned.

That’s much shorter than the alternative, said Deputy City Manager

Dave Kiff, who added that a failure to guarantee the planned development

could postpone complete annexation for years.

City Council members unanimously approved plans in September to annex

the wealthy neighborhood south of Newport Beach.

If the annexation is successful, the city has pledged to pay the

area’s residents $18 million over the next 15 years and to set aside an

additional $7 million to build a civic center as compensation for taxes

and special levies for streets, parks and schools in the area.

Newport Coast would add 4,885 acres and about 4,200 residents to the

city. Eventually, 11,000 people are expected to live in the area.

As the sole landowner, the Irvine Co. could oppose the annexation and

require a vote by Newport Coast residents, Kiff said. He added that under

a development agreement between the company and the city, the company

also has the right to ask for a phased annexation, which would take

several years to complete.

“We have an obligation to make sure that the landowner is satisfied,”

Kiff said. “People can love or hate the Irvine Co., but it’s their land

and they have a right to voice their opinion on it.”

Company officials said they backed the city’s plans.

“We’re supportive of the city’s actions so that it will facilitate and

potentially expedite the annexation of the coast,” said Mike Stockstill,

a company spokesman.

The reason the development could potentially be jeopardized is that

Newport Beach has no certified Local Coastal Program. Orange County,

which now governs Newport Coast as an unincorporated area, has a program

in place and can issue permits to build the homes.

Because the current law does not say if a city could simply adopt an

existing Local Coastal Program, city officials decided the construction

of homes could be challenged by groups opposed to the development.

The proposed bill would state that the existing Local Coastal Program

for an area would remain in place when a city annexes the territory.

“The bill is not intended to grant or take away rights,” Kiff said.

“It’s not trying to change the [currently proposed] development at all.”

While the city attorney’s office is working on a draft of the bill,

Kiff said, the document could be handed to a legislator as early as next

week. After review by the legislator’s office, he or she could introduce

the bill as early as next month.

If the legislation passes, it would take effect in January 2002, Kiff

added.

A possible sponsor of the bill is state Assembly Speaker Robert M.

Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks), Kiff said, adding that local legislators

could sign on as co-sponsors.

Newport Coast community leaders said they were willing to listen to

the city’s plans.

“At the moment, we’re content for the city to report back to us,” said

Jim McGee, who chairs Newport Coast Committee 2000, a group of residents

working on the annexation. “We haven’t considered the issue nor developed

a deadline at which we’re no longer interested in the annexation

proposal.”

While the committee has recommended that residents approve the

annexation, McGee said his group would not support a lengthy delay of the

process.

“We do not feel that the deletion of [825] homes from the overall

development plan would place the city at risk from a financial

standpoint,” he said. “If the Local Coastal Program was to change and

decrease by [825] homes, that would certainly not trouble us.”

But Kiff said city studies on the annexation had been based on a

complete development, and an economic recession could lead to a decrease

in property taxes the city will receive from the area.

Because Newport Beach will have to hire additional police and fire

personnel, the city could be left with an increased payroll while

receiving less taxes to pay for its employees, Kiff said.