Lake Forest Set to Finalize Annexation

After almost a decade of debate, Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills are poised to become part of Lake Forest.

The two communities in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains will be annexed as soon as Lake Forest officials have completed all the paperwork required by the state, probably next week.

After a final public hearing Tuesday night drew only a couple of opponents and no organized challenge, the Lake Forest City Council declared that the annexation could proceed.

“I’m grateful that Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills have become the parts of our city that they were intended to be,” said Councilwoman Kathryn McCullough.

The Local Agency Formation Commission, the state agency that oversees annexations and incorporations, earlier this year approved Lake Forest’s request to absorb the two communities on the city’s northern edge.

When Lake Forest was incorporated in 1991, Portola Hills and the then-undeveloped Foothill Ranch were included in its sphere of influence. City leaders through the 1990s maintained that the annexation would fulfill “the original vision” of Lake Forest. More recently, they have said it would bring to the two communities improved government services such as street maintenance and police protection.

Many residents in the two affluent developments, however, initially opposed annexation, saying they wanted to maintain their independence and sense of community. Some of them started a campaign to incorporate Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills separately.

“Because of the way we were geographically separated, we felt a small city would serve our residents better than a large one, and we wanted to control our own destiny,” said Sharon Hankins, a leader of that movement.

Their campaign failed in 1998 when Lake Forest annexed the Foothill Ranch commercial district, which would have been the primary source of tax revenue for the new city. Opposition to annexation faded after that.

By absorbing the two communities, Lake Forest will increase its land area by about a third and will have about 15,000 more residents, bringing its population to about 75,000.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

New Boundaries

Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills could become part of Lake Forest next week, following a 10-year annexation drive. The city’s size would increase by one-third, adding about 2,700 acres.