County Enclave Wants to Be Part of San Marino

Two groups of Los Angeles County residents, sandwiched between San Marino and Pasadena, have submitted separate petitions asking to be annexed by San Marino.

“It’s a big, uphill battle that we’ve only just started,” said Bruce Cohen, a leader of the larger group, the San Pasqual Residents Committee.

Members of the two neighborhood groups, which made their requests to the Local Agency Formation Commission in Los Angeles, complain of inadequate county services and say they feel alienated and isolated from county government. They want to link their fortunes with tiny and exclusive San Marino rather than with the larger, more ethnically and economically diverse Pasadena.

The smaller group, which has no formal name, represents residents of 92 single-family homes around the intersection of San Pasqual and Berkeley avenues. The larger group represents 470 single-family residences, 347 condominiums and apartments, and a small commercial shopping area in the rest of unincorporated county land between Allen Avenue and San Gabriel Boulevard.

“We’re doing this so we can finally shed ourselves of this orphan status of being between two worlds,” said Ralph Hofer, an attorney heading the smaller group. “We want to have a voice in our local government.”

Cohen, the manager of a Pasadena carwash who has lived in the county area for nearly five years, said his group “has more in common with San Marino than with Pasadena. . . . Lots of us shop, bank and use the services of San Marino. I have two children, and I’m in San Marino parks all the time.”

Cohen’s group submitted its petition Monday with 252 signatures from among 1,110 registered voters. County officials say they are in the process of validating the signatures to see if at least 55, or 5%, are authentic. The smaller group, which turned in its annexation request May 21, received notice Monday that it had met the signature requirements.

The groups have discussed linking forces, Cohen said, but no decision has been made.

Six years ago, county officials placed the two areas, which comprise about 36 square blocks, under what is referred to as the San Marino “sphere of influence.” San Marino’s Police and Fire departments, rather than Pasadena’s, offer secondary support to the county firefighters and law enforcement provided for the neighborhood.

State education officials last week rejected a request by Hofer’s group to withdraw from the Pasadena Unified School District and be admitted to San Marino public schools. Of the 50 school-age children in the area, Hofer said, only one attends Pasadena public schools; the rest go to private schools.

Pasadena school officials, Hofer said, indicated that they would no longer oppose the school switch if the neighborhood is admitted to San Marino.

San Marino officials have in the past reacted coolly to annexation propositions. During the last year, the city has studied the issue. City Manager John Nowak said the results will not be available until August.

“Any action is at least two to three years away, and any annexation would be very, very carefully evaluated,” Nowak said. One problem, he said, are the mini-malls, apartments and condominiums in the proposed annexation area. Those types of development are banned in San Marino.

The signatures are only the first step in the annexation process, which includes negotiation between Los Angeles County and San Marino over property tax distribution, hearings before the commission and the City Council, and possibly an election in the proposed annexation area.

“If the process bogs down anywhere, it is in this next step on property tax revenues,” said Michi Takahashi, commission executive assistant.

THE ROAD TO ANNEXATION

The legal requirements for the county area to be annexed to San Marino:

* Petitions bearing signatures of at least 5% of registered voters in the area are submitted to Local Agency Formation Commission in Los Angeles.

* Commission determines property tax revenue in area.

* San Marino and Los Angeles County officials negotiate how much tax money should go to city.

* Commission holds public hearing, votes on application. If denied, process ends.

* If approved, City Council holds hearing. Amount of written protest from annexed area determines whether an election will be held.

* If less than 25% of voters and landowners object, the council can approve or turn down the annexation without an election.

* If 25% to 49% of landowners or registered voters object, an election must be held in the proposed annexation area.

* If 50% of registered voters object, the annexation is denied.

* If an election is held, a simple majority of those casting ballots decides the issue.

Los Angeles Times