Local Agency Formation Commission

Bill Turner The Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission was scheduled to meet Wednesday morning to possibly reconsider its previous approval to annex the former El Toro Marine base to the city of Irvine. Who really knows what the Local Agency Formation Commission -- more commonly known as LAFCO -- is supposed to be about? Some people think that the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission is a state-mandated local agency whose jurisdiction is all of Orange County.

Andrew Glazer NEWPORT-MESA -- A meeting between city officials and two Orange County supervisors -- the first session focusing exclusively on the annexation of unincorporated Santa Ana Heights -- showed they are finally trying to untangle the territorial confusion, neighborhood residents said. "Newport Beach and Costa Mesa don't want a tug of war," said Ed Hall, chairman of West Santa Ana Heights for Newport Beach, a grass-roots group. "It's up to us, the cities and [the Local Agency Formation Commission]

 Costa Mesa City Council members decided Tuesday to back a plan that would give them a crack at annexing some of the largely undeveloped Banning Ranch, which borders Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. Leaders from both cities will meet today with Orange County's Local Agency Formation Commission, which decides annexations, to talk about whether unincorporated West Santa Ana Heights will be annexed to Newport Beach. Commission staff last week suggested three options: annexing West Santa Ana Heights to Newport Beach now, doing nothing, or annexing it in three phases with several conditions.

-- Mathis Winkler The city of Newport Beach's plans to annex Newport Coast, Santa Ana Heights and Bay Knolls will take a leap forward tonight if council members adopt a resolution to apply for the annexation with the state. The Local Agency Formation Commission, a state agency that includes representatives from Orange County cities as well as the county itself, will then make a decision on whether Newport Beach should be allowed to annex the areas.

The Daily Pilot article "AWG may sue to stop annexation," is a pertinent issue for both Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. Our two cities are the victims of an enlarging John Wayne Airport and its increasing noise and pollution. The Local Agency Formation Commission made a planned, political decision about Irvine's development proposal for the former Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro. They had been urged by a full house of mostly opponents of Irvine's annexation, to delay approval of Irvine's plan until the lawsuit regarding the environmental report for the property was settled.

West Santa Ana Heights in middle of tug of war between Costa Mesa, Newport Beach governments.As Newport Beach officials prepare for the possible annexation of West Santa Ana Heights, they face at least one difficult hurdle: continued objections from Costa Mesa. West Santa Ana Heights is an unincorporated 64 acres now governed by Orange County that has been at the center of a tug of war between Costa Mesa and Newport Beach for several years. The Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday will decide whether to apply to the Local Agency Formation Commission, a county group that controls annexations, to bring West Santa Ana Heights into the city fold.

Newport leaders will apply to annex West Santa Ana Heights, an area Costa Mesa officials say should be part of their city.NEWPORT BEACH -- The City Council voted Tuesday to proceed with an application to annex West Santa Ana Heights, despite opposition from Costa Mesa and pleas that two other areas be included in the annexation. The council also initiated the process of taking over the Santa Ana Heights redevelopment agency, which diverts property taxes into a fund that covers improvements in the community.

Costa Mesa and Newport Beach reached an impasse in their attempts to annex West Santa Ana Heights and Banning Ranch on Friday. Sharon Browning, a consultant working on the talks facilitated by the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission, based her decision on confidential interviews with city officials and representatives of the Santa Ana Country Club and Banning Ranch. Browning's "professional judgment, which I trust, was that there was not much chance for meaningful discussion between the two parties at this time," said Joyce Crosthwaite, the commission's executive officer.

-- Mathis Winkler NEWPORT BEACH -- City officials and Newport Coast representatives said Tuesday that they were close to reaching an agreement on terms of the city's proposed annexation of the upscale neighborhood. "I'm confident that thanks to the work of the resident team, we're close to an agreement out there," said Deputy City Manager Dave Kiff, who presented the annexation proposal to the City Council. Council members unanimously decided to move forward with an application for the annexation of Newport Coast, Santa Ana Heights and Bay Knolls.

Mathis Winkler WEST SANTA ANA HEIGHTS -- Neighborhood leaders might be upset that Costa Mesa's City Council members voted Monday to apply for the annexation of West Santa Ana Heights. But residents, who have worked on the issue for years, said Tuesday that the move will just delay their wish to become part of Newport Beach. With about 96% of the roughly 1,800 people living in the unincorporated area opposed to a Costa Mesa address, it seems certain that the application for annexation is doomed to fail.

County officials Tuesday rejected the pleas of residents of the unincorporated South of Mesa Drive neighborhood to extend an application that would allow the neighborhood and nearby Santa Ana Country Club to be annexed by Newport Beach. “It’s just wrong in a democracy to see a citizen’s group be treated so disrespectfully,” said Cal McLaughlin, who has led Newport Beach annexation efforts in the unincorporated neighborhood. McLaughlin noted that he and his neighbors overwhelmingly wanted the area to become part of Newport Beach.

 Costa Mesa City Council members decided Tuesday to back a plan that would give them a crack at annexing some of the largely undeveloped Banning Ranch, which borders Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. Leaders from both cities will meet today with Orange County's Local Agency Formation Commission, which decides annexations, to talk about whether unincorporated West Santa Ana Heights will be annexed to Newport Beach. Commission staff last week suggested three options: annexing West Santa Ana Heights to Newport Beach now, doing nothing, or annexing it in three phases with several conditions.

Costa Mesa and Newport Beach reached an impasse in their attempts to annex West Santa Ana Heights and Banning Ranch on Friday. Sharon Browning, a consultant working on the talks facilitated by the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission, based her decision on confidential interviews with city officials and representatives of the Santa Ana Country Club and Banning Ranch. Browning's "professional judgment, which I trust, was that there was not much chance for meaningful discussion between the two parties at this time," said Joyce Crosthwaite, the commission's executive officer.

Newport leaders will apply to annex West Santa Ana Heights, an area Costa Mesa officials say should be part of their city.NEWPORT BEACH -- The City Council voted Tuesday to proceed with an application to annex West Santa Ana Heights, despite opposition from Costa Mesa and pleas that two other areas be included in the annexation. The council also initiated the process of taking over the Santa Ana Heights redevelopment agency, which diverts property taxes into a fund that covers improvements in the community.

West Santa Ana Heights in middle of tug of war between Costa Mesa, Newport Beach governments.As Newport Beach officials prepare for the possible annexation of West Santa Ana Heights, they face at least one difficult hurdle: continued objections from Costa Mesa. West Santa Ana Heights is an unincorporated 64 acres now governed by Orange County that has been at the center of a tug of war between Costa Mesa and Newport Beach for several years. The Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday will decide whether to apply to the Local Agency Formation Commission, a county group that controls annexations, to bring West Santa Ana Heights into the city fold.

Deirdre Newman Residents who live in an unincorporated area that is the object of a tug-of-war between Costa Mesa and Newport Beach say they would prefer the coastal city address for many reasons -- and higher property values isn't one of them. Newport Beach has made a move to annex an area that includes 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 fall into Costa Mesa's sphere of influence.

Bill Turner The Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission was scheduled to meet Wednesday morning to possibly reconsider its previous approval to annex the former El Toro Marine base to the city of Irvine. Who really knows what the Local Agency Formation Commission -- more commonly known as LAFCO -- is supposed to be about? Some people think that the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission is a state-mandated local agency whose jurisdiction is all of Orange County.

The Daily Pilot article "AWG may sue to stop annexation," is a pertinent issue for both Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. Our two cities are the victims of an enlarging John Wayne Airport and its increasing noise and pollution. The Local Agency Formation Commission made a planned, political decision about Irvine's development proposal for the former Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro. They had been urged by a full house of mostly opponents of Irvine's annexation, to delay approval of Irvine's plan until the lawsuit regarding the environmental report for the property was settled.

This is my third go at a column dealing with the current confusion about the annexation of Santa Ana Heights by the city of Newport Beach. The first was satire, and the second was irritation. Both were heavy on emotion -- of which there is already too much -- and short on reason. Then we had 10 of our Santa Ana Heights neighbors in for drinks over the weekend, and I polled them to see how they felt about annexation. They were unanimously in favor of it. They were also unanimously against my giving Newport Beach officials any additional evidence that we are a bunch of malcontents who would be mostly a burr under the Newport Beach saddle.

June Casagrande NEWPORT BEACH -- The beginning of the end of the Newport Coast annexation debate is set for Oct. 15 -- the official start of a 30-day period when residents of the unincorporated area can protest plans to become part of the city. For the 2,600 or so residents in the area, silence at that point is complicity: More than a quarter of the registered voters there must file a protest against annexation or else it will be automatically approved.