Capistrano Beach : Group Will Consider Drive for Annexation

The Capistrano Beach Community Assn. will hold a public meeting tonight to decide whether to seek annexation of the unincorporated community by neighboring San Juan Capistrano.

The group, which numbers a couple hundred members but has no official status, will vote on a proposal to circulate petitions in favor of annexation, Barbara McCarthy, the group’s secretary, said. If 5% of the community’s 4,400 registered voters sign the petitions, the group will ask San Juan to “start the ball rolling for serious study” of the pros and cons of annexation, McCarthy said.

A residents’ committee began investigating the community’s options after the county Board of Supervisors voted last year to reduce funding for services to unincorporated areas, McCarthy said. The community association is putting the issue to a vote now because “our feeling was that if the community doesn’t want it (annexation), then there’s no point to going to all this work and doing this investigation,” she said.

The meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Palisades Elementary School, 26462 Via Sacramento.