Council Drops Plan to Annex Bay Knolls

Honoring the wishes of the Bay Knolls Homeowners Assn., the City Council on Monday dropped annexation proceedings for the unincorporated subdivision.

Residents now can continue their quest to become part of Newport Beach.

Costa Mesa had sought the county parcel on the east side of town, between Tustin and Santa Ana avenues at Santa Isabel Avenue, since it sometimes provides police and fire protection through a mutual aid agreement.

Residents in Bay Knolls said they oppose annexation to Costa Mesa because they were told by real estate agents that they would someday be part of Newport Beach.

The Bay Knolls homeowners have a Newport Beach mailing address and receive the city’s cable-TV service.

“People thought they were buying Newport Beach and thought they [Newport] would be annexing,” Bay Knolls representative John Buchanan told the council.

“People were shocked when they found out about Costa Mesa.”

Buchanan said the association’s opposition was not based on any assumption of higher property values attached to a Newport Beach address.

The subdivision contains about 150 homes, built in the mid-1960s on lots of 7,200 to 12,000 square feet, Buchanan said.

The council agreed by way of a resolution not to pursue the annexation but still is seeking other unincorporated areas on its eastern border.

The vote was unanimous and without argument.

Buchanan said the Bay Knolls association is in negotiations with Newport Beach about annexation.