Annexation opponents continue battle

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- Just after a county commission made it official that

Newport Coast will be annexed by the city, a group of residents is

looking for ways to stop the process and bring the annexation question to

the ballot box.

There’s a chance it could end up in court.

Phillip Greer, a Coast resident who helped gather signatures to stop

the annexation, said Friday that a citizens committee plans to ask county

officials to review the signature count on the petitions.

On Nov. 16, Greer delivered 969 signatures at a hearing of the Orange

County Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees annexations.

Added to the 103 protests already on file, Greer’s petition appeared to

be more than enough to send the matter to a vote of residents of the

unincorporated community.

Last week, however, city officials were celebrating the news that the

county registrar’s tally showed that only 658 of the signatures were

valid because the others were either not from registered voters or were

duplicates. Under commission rules, if more 25% of the 3,407 registered

voters who live in Newport Coast protest annexation, the matter would be

put to a vote among them. The registrar’s count showed opponents almost

200 short of the 853 signatures needed to stop annexation.

“That seems like an awful lot of signatures thrown out,” said Greer,

who said he plans to meet with an ad hoc committee of residents this

weekend to discuss what to do next.

Most likely, he said, they will ask the commission or the registrar to

review the signatures.

“Hopefully they’ll find there were enough signatures and it will go to

an election,” he said.

If that doesn’t work, the matter could end up in court.

“We’re looking at some legal action,” he said.

Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said the city is moving ahead with

plans to annex the community of about 2,600 homes.

“Assuming there are no changes in the vote count, it’s official,” Kiff

said.

On Tuesday, the City Council voted to put annexation in motion by

authorizing city staff to take some preliminary steps toward providing

services there. Barring yet another turn of events in the tumultuous

process, city officials plan to begin providing police, fire and other

services to the community’s residents on Jan. 1.

Like many who oppose annexation, Greer has said that he doesn’t

necessarily object to joining the city but instead has a problem with the

process. Under law, annexation is decided by the commission, with the

provision that enough formal protests by residents can put it to a vote

or stop it altogether. In the 1970s, the unincorporated area was

designated as being under the city’s “sphere of influence,” meaning that

it should ultimately be annexed to the city.

-- June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 june.casagrande@latimes.comf7 .