Lake Forest Ca Annexations

There will be no hostile annexation of Foothill Ranch, city officials assured residents of the unincorporated community this week. Foothill residents had been concerned about a City Council agenda item stating that Lake Forest City Manager Murray Warden was seeking direction on the so-called supercity incorporation efforts.

Residential Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills will become part of Lake Forest within a few months barring an unforeseen public outcry, a county commission has decided. The Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees annexations, approved city applications Wednesday to annex a 2,720-acre area comprising the two communities, a large part of Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park and the Foothill Ranch Marketplace.

The Sphere of Influence Community Task Force adjourned for the last time after approving an educational document on annexation of Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills. The document will outline issues discussed by the task force and will be mailed to all residents in the proposed annexation area. The proposal will be part of the city's annexation application to the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission.

The results of a controversial phone survey of Foothill Ranch residents about annexation to Lake Forest are expected to be handed to the City Council on Tuesday. City Manager Robert Dunek said he didn't expect the council to take action on the survey tonight. "We simply intend to provide the results of the survey and discuss [related issues] in some generalized terms," he said.

A proposal to cap services from an annexation consultant at $28,750 through December will be considered by the City Council tonight. The council's approval would formalize an agreement with Rosenow Spevacek Group Inc. of Santa Ana to continue advising city officials as they consider absorbing part or all of the unincorporated communities of Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills. Currently the city is working to annex about 196 acres in the Foothill Ranch area.

Cityhood activists from Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills made a final stab at derailing the annexation of 1,502 acres to Lake Forest late Wednesday. The Foothill Ranch Civic Council formally asked the county Local Agency Formation Commission to reconsider last month's unanimous decision approving the annexation.