H.B to oversee Sunset

The seaside community of Sunset Beach is now officially under the sphere of influence of Huntington Beach, after a Local Agency Formation Commission vote Wednesday that some residents fear could lead to annexation.

The Orange County branch of the commission, responsible for reviewing and approving boundary changes in the county, voted 4 to 3 to place the 105-year-old community with a small-town feel under the supervision of the more than-200,000-resident Huntington Beach.

This makes Huntington Beach the main service provider for the community. Sunset Beach residents fear this step will pave the way for annexation to the city, a step they strongly oppose.

“They [the commissioners] want to do this in order that down the road ... they can annex, or foster the annexation, of Sunset Beach,” said Gretchen Hoad, who has lived in Sunset Beach with her husband, Craig, for 37 years.

The commission’s staff wants to eliminate all areas not yet under spheres of influence, said Orange County Sup. John Moorlach. Sunset Beach was the only developed, unincorporated area in Northern Orange County that wasn’t yet under the umbrella of a nearby city.

“It’s a glorious little community,” said Moorlach, one of the three who voted against the action. “In fact, it strikes me as a vestige of a different time era.”

“We raise money by bake sales and pancake breakfasts, and we don’t have to raise taxes,” said Greg Griffin, president of the Sunset Beach Community Assn.

Huntington Beach Mayor Keith Bohr conveyed his approval of the action through Paul Emery, deputy city administrator. Bohr said the City Council hasn’t discussed the Sunset Beach issue yet, but will at its July 30 meeting. Bohr commented that the topic of annexation isn’t an option the city is pursuing — at least at the moment.

“We’re not there yet,” he said. However, “if they’re going to be annexed by somebody, it should be us.”

Commissioner Cheryl Brothers told the residents that coming under Huntington Beach’s sphere of influence won’t force them to “give up their identity.”

However, some residents still fear annexation with Huntington Beach in the future could easily lead to modern development of their quaint town. Residents also fear annexation of their community might squelch the independent, volunteer-like nature of their community.

“We are volunteer-driven,” Hoad said. “We get together when things need to be done ... I think we’re unique in that.”

Typically, unincorporated areas can veto such actions by voting. But since the Sunset Beach community is less than 150 acres, according to state law, it doesn’t have a choice — or so officials said at Wednesday’s meeting. However, there’s a loophole in the state law, Moorlach and Bob Aldrich of the commission said. As Huntington Beach and Seal Beach impose utility taxes of approximately 5% and 11%, respectively, residents could form a protest vote and veto annexation entirely with the support of 50% of residents or more.

The county has estimated that it could save more than $5,000 by stopping services to Sunset Beach.

Many of the community’s residents would rather be annexed by Seal Beach than Huntington Beach, one reason being Seal Beach, with about one-eighth the residents Huntington Beach has, shares a similar, small-town mentality.

The commission determined that the Sunset Beach Sanitary District should remain independent from the influence of other outside districts, such as Huntington Beach.

Sunset Beach’s main provider has always been Orange County, which offers the community police services.

The city of Huntington Beach provides water and transmission of waste, Griffin and commissioners acknowledged.