Annexation

West Santa Ana Heights is now a part of Newport Beach, but residents are going to have to wait awhile before it says so on their mail. City officials said they have notified the United States Postal Service of the change, but the federal agency could take a while to switch addresses. “The federal government sort of works on its own timeline for that stuff, but all in good time,” said Tim Stokes, vice chairman of the Project Advisory Committee. Officials have said that the new Newport neighborhood, which officially joined Newport on Tuesday, could wait as long as July to get a new ZIP code.

The commission that decides Orange County annexations voted Wednesday not to change the status of four unincorporated areas expected to be annexed to Newport Beach or Costa Mesa. Two parcels — the Santa Ana Country Club and a neighborhood south of Mesa Drive — are slated for eventual annexation to Costa Mesa. Residents, however, have applied to annex to Newport, and the commission’s action may weaken that application. The Local Agency Formation Commission’s decision means Costa Mesa retains the first right to provide services and ultimately try to annex the country club and south Mesa Drive.

Costa Mesa’s grip over two unincorporated areas between its boundaries and those of Newport Beach may tighten next week, even as residents of the areas try to wriggle free. When Orange County’s Local Agency Formation Commission meets Wednesday, members will discuss whether to reaffirm Costa Mesa’s right to serve and eventually try to annex two unincorporated areas — the Santa Ana Country Club property and a neighborhood south of Mesa Drive — and those same rights Newport has over the massive Banning Ranch and a small parcel known as the Emerson tract.

West Santa Ana Heights won't get a Newport Beach zip code until July 1, 2008, when it officially becomes part of the city, though the annexation process is rolling along. Newport Beach officials will get a report Tuesday explaining what follows the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission's July 11 approval of the annexation. Next steps include a period of protest, during which residents who don't want to be annexed can voice their objections, and the official recording of the annexation, according to the report.

Sometimes we do learn from history. Like Tuesday night when the Newport Beach City Council finally put a stamp on the city hall vs. park dispute that has been cluttering the Pilot's "Forum" pages for almost as long as the El Toro airport flap — and was beginning to take on some of the same colorations. Anybody else notice that? Think back a moment. Building a commercial airport in El Toro was voted on twice. And our side won twice. The airport was in, but the other side had an unbeatable strategy.

SANTA ANA — Newport Beach will get bigger, and residents of West Santa Ana Heights will realize their dream of being inside city boundaries. The Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to annex West Santa Ana Heights to Newport, something residents have pursued for years. The annexation likely will become official in July 2008, the beginning of the city's next fiscal year. Robert Hanley, who has been working for nine years to get his neighborhood annexed, was quietly pleased with the vote Wednesday and expects to show his jubilance later.

The Orange County agency that rules on annexations is poised to vote today on whether to reunite Santa Ana Heights by annexing the western half into Newport Beach. East Santa Ana Heights was annexed to Newport in 2003, and the western portion has been trying to follow ever since. But the issue was complicated by three other unincorporated areas ? Banning Ranch, the Santa Ana Country Club and an area south of Mesa Drive ? that county officials wanted to see annexed either to Newport or Costa Mesa.

West Santa Ana Heights could be annexed to Newport Beach as soon as next Wednesday. Staff for the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission, which decides annexations, on Wednesday recommended West Santa Ana Heights be annexed, but that any decision on Banning Ranch be put off for six more months. It's the latest move in a long-running battle between Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, and it means a proposed "global solution" from county Supervisor John Moorlach has lost steam.