NORTH TUSTIN : Signatures Collected for Cityhood Vote
A group that wants the North Tustin area to incorporate has gathered enough signatures to require the Local Agency Formation Commission to hold a public hearing on the matter.
The Orange County registrar of voters verified the signatures this week, said Jim Colangelo, LAFCO’s executive director. LAFCO officials will begin studying the issue and hold a hearing April 3, Colangelo said.
More than 100 members and supporters of Citizens for More Local Control spent about three months collecting the signatures. While some residents say they would prefer to annex to an adjacent city or remain unincorporated, cityhood proponents say that creating a new city would give residents political autonomy and help maintain the semirural atmosphere of the area.
A feasibility study conducted by Christensen & Walklace of Oceanside found that a utility users’ tax of about $74 a year would be required in the new city’s ninth year.
A 30-day public comment period on that study will begin in early February. During that time, residents may ask the state controller to analyze the report. Such a review must be paid for by the person who requests it, and one recently conducted in Riverside cost about $25,000, Colangelo said.
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