Locals shelve annexation

Residents of the unincorporated South of Mesa Drive neighborhood have withdrawn an application that would allow the neighborhood and nearby Santa Ana Country Club to be annexed by Newport Beach rather than let it expire due to lack of county support.

“Now we’re really just in a hold mode,” said Cal McLaughlin, who has led Newport Beach annexation efforts in the unincorporated neighborhood.

McLaughlin said he was unsure when the residents would reapply for annexation or whether the group would try a different strategy.

County officials earlier this month rejected the requests of neighborhood residents of the unincorporated South of Mesa Drive neighborhood to extend the application.

The Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission, which presides over annexations, voted down the extension, 6-1. The residents needed a tax-sharing agreement from the Orange County Board of Supervisors to move forward, and some blame County Board Chairman John Moorlach for blocking the board from voting on the agreement. Moorlach, a longtime Costa Mesa resident, has been outspoken in his belief that Costa Mesa has more of a right to the land than Newport Beach.

“That in effect killed the petition, and I haven’t heard of anyone resurrecting it,” said Newport Beach City Manager Homer Bludau. “[The Local Agency Formation Commission] had the last say.”

Moorlach has worked for the past year on what he calls “a global solution” to resolve the annexation clashes between Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.

The plan would divide several pieces of contested unincorporated land between the two cities, but has seen limited success so far. Moorlach said he hasn’t given up on the global solution plan just yet.

“I think that process is still out there and still open to certain dialogue,” he said. “I’m still going to move on some of those…with both city councils, and we’ll see what we can do to make everybody happy. It’s a work in progress.”

Costa Mesa officials have been working on a proposal to provide city services to the residents south of Mesa Drive. The residents want Newport Beach addresses because they will boost property values, and they claim the city could offer them better services than Costa Mesa.

Costa Mesa has a sphere of influence over both the country club and the South of Mesa Drive area and tried to annex them in 2002, but faced widespread opposition from property owners who petitioned against the annexation.

Newport Beach voted 6-1 to move forward with the annexation application in February, even though city staff recommended the city let the application expire rather than risk a land battle with Costa Mesa over who should get the property.

Santa Ana Country Club and the residential neighborhood gathered more than enough signatures last year to petition for annexation to the county agency that oversees the process.

— Daily Pilot Reporter Chris Caesar contributed to this report

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.