COSTA MESA : Group Says Home Is Newport Beach

More than 100 residents living within the city’s sphere of influence want to be free of Costa Mesa.

During recent City Council meetings, representatives of the Bay Knolls group, as they call themselves, have asked the council to agree that they make a better match with Newport Beach.

Their homes are on a slice of unincorporated county land along a section the city’s eastern boundary that roughly follows Irvine Avenue.

It’s a virtual no-man’s land, residents and even city officials admit.

“Right now it is very difficult to tell when you are in the city, the county or in Newport Beach,” said Donald Lamm, Costa Mesa deputy city manager.

The majority of the residents’ services, including mail, come from Newport Beach. In fact, they said, when they bought their homes, they were told they lived in Newport Beach.

However, the Local Agency Formation Commission, the county agency that decides to which city unincorporated territory should be annexed, has deemed the area Costa Mesa’s domain.

During the last three years, residents have been working behind the scenes to change LAFCO’s mind.

They spent about $30,000 to hire a consultant and an engineer. To comply with Newport Beach regulations, they have even put in new storm drains.

“They just want to make themselves official and legal,” said Jerry King, the consultant hired by the residents to move things along.

After a recent overhaul of Costa Mesa’s General Plan, its blueprint for development, the council has been prioritizing several issues.

What to do about county land within the city’s sphere of influence is on the list, and the Bay Knolls group has been busy lobbying the council to get its concerns addressed quickly.

Costa Mesa officials have responded by agreeing to meet with their counterparts in Newport Beach within the next few months.

However, they still have to form an opinion, and the ultimate decision still lies with LAFCO.

“We have to study it, and LAFCO has to decide whether it makes sense,” said Lamm.