Council redistricting sparks concerns

Noaki Schwartz

NEWPORT BEACH -- Corona del Mar residents say they don’t want to be

part of the same City Council district as Newport Coast if the new

community is added to the city’s boundaries.

The Corona del Mar Residents Assn. has sent a letter to the City Council,

requesting Corona del Mar be left alone if staff reorganizes the seven

districts as part of a proposal to annex Newport Coast.

Coast residents have said they don’t want to be split into different

districts and have made that a requirement for annexation. But that

creates the potential for Corona del Mar to be split or diluted, said

resident Debra Allen.

“[Our association] has worked together really well and to dump our

council district into something twice as big as we are is [worrying],”

Allen said.

The two communities are very different -- one old and one new -- and this

could lead to divergent interests being represented at council meetings,

said association president Val Skoro.

“They don’t have enough in common with us to make a joint organization

possible,” Allen said. “In Newport Coast, all the house are new, they

don’t have any issues about redevelopment and no problems with

underground utilities.”

The Corona del Mar residents’ concerns are the first to be raised by a

community since the city indicated it would have to redraw district lines

because of pending annexations. The city has decided to begin the process

of adding Newport Coast, parts of Santa Ana Heights and Bay Knolls to its

boundaries.

“We’re required to have the same number of people in each district and

there are 10,000 per district right now,” said Mayor Dennis O’Neil, who

also represents Corona del Mar.

But because of population limitations in each district, Corona del Mar

and Newport Coast cannot be placed entirely in the same district, said

Dave Kiff, deputy city manager. District 6 now has 9,500 people and there

are 4,000 people in Newport Coast.

Kiff added that although it is possible Corona del Mar could be split

into different districts, it is “not likely.”

The association is still waiting to hear from City Council members

regarding their concerns. The redistricting should be completed and in

place by May 2000.