Newport Beach Moves to Annex 3 Communities

After years of debate, the Newport Beach City Council unanimously approved plans Tuesday to annex three unincorporated areas, a move officials say will be the largest and most complicated reorganization in the city’s history.

The annexation would include the Newport Coast, a development of exclusive homes between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach that would boost the city’s tax base.

Newport Beach also would annex Bay Knolls and Santa Ana Heights, two communities directly beneath the takeoff pattern of nearby John Wayne Airport. Officials said annexing Santa Ana Heights would give the city added bargaining power in its effort to block any expansion of John Wayne.

The council’s decision clears the way to file an application for annexation with the Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees changes to city limits.

Residents in the annexation areas must agree to the changes. Should they do so, they could join the city as early as March.

While residents in the areas near the airport generally have backed annexation, Newport Coast residents have been reluctant, some saying they prefer not to be part of a larger entity. At Tuesday’s meeting, Newport Coast Committee 2000 members, who represent the area’s homeowners, said they feel comfortable recommending annexation to their members.

“We believe that residents, once they fully understand the issues, will support the annexation,” said Jim McGee, the group’s president.

Because of new-development fees for streets, parks and schools, property owners in Newport Coast now pay more than twice as much in local taxes as those in Newport Beach. After negotiating for more than two years, city officials and the residents group finally reached a compromise under which the city would pay Newport Coast residents $18 million during the next 15 years and set aside $7 million for a civic center there.

An advisory committee of four Newport Coast residents and three city appointees would oversee the process.

If all three areas are annexed, Newport Beach would gain about 5,000 acres and almost 6,000 residents. The city now spans 21,930 acres and has a population of about 72,600.