City clears hurdle to annexation

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- A plan to use Santa Ana Heights residents’

redevelopment money as the sole funding source to build a fire station

has been scrapped, effectively erasing the main reason a handful of

residents objected to being annexed by the city. City officials have also

backed off the idea to build that station on a portion of land slated to

be developed as a community center for Santa Ana Heights.

In a 5-0 vote Tuesday, City Council members approved a plan that will

move forward annexation of east Santa Ana Heights and Bay Knolls to the

city. Council members Gary Adams and Gary Proctor were absent.

The council also approved adding a tiny swath of land called the

Emerson/Tustin neighborhood to the city’s annexation application. The

Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees

annexations, asked Newport Beach to take in the nine parcels that

comprise the Emerson/Tustin neighborhood after residents convinced the

agency that they have stronger historical ties to Newport Beach than to

Costa Mesa. Previously, these homes on the border between the two cities

were slated to be annexed by Costa Mesa.

“Residents there were able to convince LAFCO that they belong in

Newport,” said Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff.

West Santa Ana Heights, too, has fought to be annexed by Newport Beach

instead of Costa Mesa, but the community has so far been unsuccessful.

That area has been determined by the formation commission to be in Costa

Mesa’s natural boundaries. Residents of both sides of Santa Ana Heights

have argued that their neighborhood should not be split up. By large

majorities, residents of both areas prefer a Newport Beach address.

Tuesday’s council decision regarding the fire station marks a

significant victory for residents and will likely put the east Santa Ana

Heights annexation back on track.

“It sounds like they’re now doing some of the things we’ve wanted,”

said Roger Summers, president of the group that represents residents to

the county’s redevelopment agency.

Members of that group had expressed serious concerns over the city’s

previous plan to build the station exclusively with redevelopment money

and on the community center site on Cypress Street. They argued that

because the station will serve areas outside of Santa Ana Heights that

are already in Newport Beach -- places where fire department response

times are now lagging -- it was unfair to make Santa Ana Heights

residents pay the full cost.

Summers said members of his group support the new plan of helping to

pay for a fire station at a different location in Santa Ana Heights.

“We’re looking at sharing some of these costs with different

agencies,” he said.

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

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