Sunset Beach to gather signatures

The Sunset Beach Community Assn. is starting the process of petitioning to incorporate the seaside neighborhood as its own city, President Greg Griffin said.

The association, which represents the community of slightly more than 1,000 people, plans to start collecting signatures at its regular meeting this evening. The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Sunset Beach Women’s Club.

The Orange County Local Agency Formation Committee put Sunset under Huntington Beach’s sphere of influence in July. The community association filed a notice of intent to petition with the committee last year and needs at least 25% of Sunset’s landowners or registered voters to support incorporation.

Griffin, though, said he’s confident that more than 25% will sign the petition.

“We’re shooting higher than that, just to make sure everybody knows about it,” he said.

The community association is also awaiting the recommendation of a private consultant who is determining whether Sunset can foot the costs of incorporating as a city. The report should come back by April, Griffin said.

— Michael Miller