Annex issues murky

With Newport Beach and Costa Mesa officials scheduled to meet Aug. 2 to begin negotiating annexation issues, the question is: What is there for them to talk about?

Four unincorporated areas ? West Santa Ana Heights, Banning Ranch, a neighborhood south of Mesa Drive and the Santa Ana Country Club ? will undoubtedly be on the table. But whether both cities are ready to give as well as take remains to be seen.

The cities’ earlier negotiations failed, which resulted in Newport applying to the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission to annex West Santa Ana Heights. Costa Mesa then petitioned to have part of Banning Ranch brought into its jurisdiction ? and away from Newport’s.

The commission last week voted to put off until November a decision on the cities’ requests and to send them back into talks in the meantime.

Newport Beach appears to have the upper hand, with a one-foot strip of city territory potentially barring any other city from annexing the vast undeveloped acreage of Banning Ranch, and the country club and area south of Mesa Drive asking to become part of Newport rather than Costa Mesa.

Costa Mesa wants part of Banning Ranch, but Newport isn’t likely to loosen its hold. Commission staff members suggested that Newport give up a piece of the one-foot strip as a condition of taking West Santa Ana Heights but a week after the hearing, city officials don’t seem interested.

“I don’t support giving up existing territory of Newport Beach,” Councilwoman Leslie Daigle said.

As to the neighborhood south of Mesa Drive and the Santa Ana Country Club, Newport officials stressed that they haven’t solicited annexations there. Mesa Drive neighborhood residents and country club members have asked to join Newport, and they’ve threatened to exercise their right to a protest vote if Costa Mesa tries to absorb them.

“If other people want to come in to Newport Beach it’s pretty hard for us to say absolutely not, but we may end up doing that depending on the outcome of these discussions,” Newport Beach Mayor Don Webb said.

Costa Mesa officials this week declined to give specifics on what they want to discuss with Newport, but at last week’s meeting the city put a key stipulation on its assent to the West Santa Ana Heights annexation.

While Costa Mesa has the first right to serve and attempt to annex West Santa Ana Heights, the city was willing to let the area go ? if Santa Ana Avenue and Mesa Drive would be set as boundaries, preventing the country club and neighborhood south of Mesa from becoming part of Newport.

Costa Mesa City Councilwoman Katrina Foley said there is much for the cities to discuss, and she refuted the suggestion that Newport has a big advantage.

“If they had all the cards in this, then they would have gotten their way at the [commission] meeting,” she said.

She and Newport Beach City Manager Homer Bludau said it’s the commission that actually has the power here. For example, Bludau said, the commission could refuse to allow Newport to annex the areas that want to join the city.

“I am still going to be open-minded as we move through the process, because I think that’s what we’ve been asked to do, and I don’t think it does anybody any good for both sides to dig in their heels at this point,” Foley said.

Bludau said Newport officials also will enter talks with an open mind.

Also attending the talks will be commission member Arlene Schafer, Orange County Supervisors Tom Wilson and Jim Silva, and George Basye, who represents the Banning Ranch owners.

Basye said he’s been working with Newport Beach for several years to plan for the future development of the 400-plus acre property and expects to continue to do so.

He added, however, “we know that we’re going to have to work with both communities?. It’s going to be important for us to do everything we can to maintain good relations with all of the people at that table.”