Neighborhood is up for underground utility lines

Deirdre Newman

The almost decade-long effort to put utility lines underground on two

streets in this equestrian neighborhood will take a few strides

forward later this month.

At the next Newport Beach City Council meeting on Nov. 23, council

members will schedule a public hearing to start the process of

getting the utility lines underground on Cypress Street and Mesa

Drive.

The fact that it’s happening at all is heartening to residents of

the Santa Ana Heights Project Advisory Committee, who have been

trying to get the utility lines underground since 1995. The committee

is made up of residents in both the already-annexed eastern portion

of this area and the western portion, which the city is still hoping

to pull within its limits.

Getting the lines underground is a priority for aesthetic and

safety reasons. Both equestrians and pedestrians have had to snake

their way around utility poles on the horse trails and the sidewalks

on these two streets, committee secretary Barbara Venezia said.

“We’ve been trying to get them underground forever,” Venezia said.

In 2002, the county Board of Supervisors approved forming a

utilities district to move the lines underground. But when the city

annexed east Santa Ana Heights in July 2003, the process had to be

started again, since city leaders now had to approve a district being

formed.

First, the city hired a consultant to study the feasibility of

putting the lines on Cypress Street and Mesa Drive underground. The

consultant found it was a viable option, assistant city manager Dave

Kiff said.

The next step is a cost analysis.

The residents in east Santa Ana Heights won’t have to shoulder all

of the typically steep cost of the project. Since their neighborhood

is part of the county’s redevelopment area, the county’s

redevelopment district is paying the bulk of the cost, Kiff said.

Only the homeowners on the two streets involved will have to

contribute, Venezia said.

Another priority for the Santa Ana Heights area is a community

center.

The city has been working with the YMCA on University Drive to buy

its facility and set up an agreement for the YMCA to operate the

facility, while the city developed plans for turning it into a

community center.

The operational agreement is proving tricky, though, City Manager

Homer Bludau said, adding that the city is now focusing on giving the

planning process more time to evolve before it moves forward with any

deal.

“The YMCA wants to operate it long-term,” he said. “We want for

that to happen. But we aren’t far enough along for them to know if

they will feel comfortable or uncomfortable operating it.”

The city will also be revisiting the annexation of west Santa Ana

Heights in the near future. City Council members had asked staff

members to wait until after the election to bring this issue back for

their consideration.

The issue has been contentious in the past because both Costa Mesa

and Newport Beach covet west Santa Ana Heights, which falls in Costa

Mesa’s sphere of influence.

In February, the Costa Mesa City Council approved continuing its

effort to annex a 288-acre area including west Santa Ana Heights, the

Santa Ana Country Club and a mostly residential area south of Mesa

Drive between Santa Ana and Irvine avenues, which contains two

parcels already within Costa Mesa city limits.

The residents of west Santa Ana Heights held a protest vote in the

fall of 2002 and by a 70% margin chose not to be annexed by Costa

Mesa.

Newport Beach staff members will be bringing the annexation issue

back to their council as early as Dec 14, Kiff said. The country club

will not be part of the annexation package council members will

consider at that time because of Costa Mesa’s opposition, Kiff added.