Trash pickup changes raise questions

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- Some residents are angry that the city is paying for

trash collection for the newly annexed Newport Coast, alleging that the

perk violates a 1996 ballot measure. But officials say that’s a

misinterpretation of the law.

In 1996, Newport Beach residents answered “yes” to the Measure Q

question, which asked whether the city should be required “to use

property tax revenue to pay only for the cost of providing curbside

container refuse collection for existing or future residential units

within city boundaries as of November 1996.”

“How did it happen that we put into the pre-annexation agreement that

the city would supply all Newport Coast residents, not just curbside,

with free trash service and free recycling?” asked Dolores Otting, who

said she plans to pose that question to council members at their meeting

Tuesday.

The former owner of a refuse-collection company, Otting said she

believes the annexation agreement promising trash collection to the coast

community residents violates both the letter and the spirit of Measure Q.

Officials disagree.

“Some people may have a misunderstanding about what Measure Q added to

community code,” said Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff, who oversees many

aspects of Newport Coast annexation.

Kiff said the law means that people within the city’s 1996 border

should never have to pay directly for their trash service. It does not

mean, Kiff said, that the city would never provide that service beyond

the 1996 border.

The city borders changed significantly on Jan. 1, when about 2,600

homes in Newport Coast and Newport Ridge were made part of Newport Beach.

According to an agreement between the city and the coast comunity

residents, Newport Beach will begin paying for trash collection services

that the residents had been paying for directly. The provider, Waste

Management Co., will not change.

“We provide a high level of service to the citizens of Newport Beach,

including the peninsula, including West Newport -- from police to fire to

trash,” Kiff said. “Newport Coast isn’t getting anything special.”