City lights fire under the station

June Casagrande

City officials are moving ahead with a plan to build a fire

station using at least $3 million in redevelopment funds for Santa

Ana Heights.

Several of the four or five sites being considered for the fire

station are on property owned by the redevelopment agency, Assistant

City Manager Dave Kiff said.

Construction costs are estimated at $3 million to $3.5 million,

not counting purchasing the property.

“We need to identify a permanent site,” City Manager Homer Bludau

said. “Then we need to enter into a permanent agreement with the

county redevelopment agency to fund purchase of the site and

construction of a fire station.”

Bludau and Kiff plan to meet with Orange County Supervisor Jim

Silva next week to push for county support for the city’s plan. City

officials hope to win the county supervisors’ blessing to plan and

build the fire station using the redevelopment agency funds.

Some Santa Ana Heights resident leaders have asked whether they

should foot the entire bill, considering that the station will serve

parts of Newport Beach that were the city’s responsibility long

before the Santa Ana Heights annexation was approved.

Roger Summers, who heads up the redevelopment agency’s project

advisory committee, and who has questioned fully financing the

station, could not be reached Monday afternoon.

The station will respond to fire calls in East Santa Ana Heights,

which will become part of Newport Beach on July 1. It will also serve

West Santa Ana Heights, which is still unincorporated county

property, portions of Newport Beach north of Bristol Avenue and

possibly even the area around Fletcher Jones Motorcars.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.