Orange city leaders are looking at annexing four unincorporated areas throughout the city, with some residents raising concerns about the move, fearing city overreach and loss of community.
The four communities include El Modena, North El Modena, Olive Heights and Santiago Creek.
Absorbing these unincorporated pockets would bring about 353 acres and just under 4,000 residents under city control.
City council members approved the absorption of neighborhoods last Tuesday on a 5-2 vote, with council members Arianna Barrios and Jon Dumitru voting against the move.
According to a staff report, the reason for annexing the pockets is to “create a more unified community” and “improve service consistency,” like police services.
In the early 2000s, the city annexed 11 islands, but left six unincorporated.
Ever since, those six islands have been under the county’s jurisdiction.
“When I look at the county islands in Orange, it looks like really bad Swiss cheese,” said Mayor Dan Slater at Tuesday’s meeting. “The county islands, quite frankly the way I see it, are the poster children for the most government inefficiency that exists in the county.”
Orange Park Acres, Lincoln/Glassell Avoids Annexation
Originally, city staff presented six islands to be considered for annexation, including one largely residential pocket but two – Orange Park Acres and Lincoln/Glassell – were removed after residents and council members were unhappy with the potential unification.
Several Orange Park Acres residents attended the meeting to speak out against the annexation, voicing concerns of their rural community atmosphere being taken away if they were to join the city.
“The fear is that annexing into the city is gonna be the first step. That we’re going to lose our rural character, and we’re going to lose our ability to keep our equine and our livestock and our chickens,” said Laurel Maldonado, a resident who spoke at the meeting.
“Let the residents make a choice of whether they want to be part of this annexation or not.”
Slater assured residents that the laws surrounding livestock ownership would not change if the Orange Park Acres pocket were to be annexed.
“We need to reach out to residents and have a discussion. They need to know that we don’t care to change their situation with regard to animals. It’s been that way for 100 years, why not stay that way,” Slater said at the meeting. “They need to know that we don’t want to change their lifestyle, we want to preserve it.”
Additionally, Councilmember Kathy Tavoularis asked for the Lincoln/Glassell pocket to be removed from consideration, as there is only one business – R.J. Noble Company, an industrial plant – on the land.
“I want to echo what Councilmember Tavoularis said about the R.J. Noble property, that the family has repeatedly indicated they’re not interested in annexation…” said Councilmember Denis Bilodeau at the meeting.
“It’s pretty apparent to me that you’d have an uphill battle trying to get [Orange Park Acres] to annex into the city,” he said, speaking to the exclusion of pockets.
Councilmember Ana Gutierrez supported the inclusion of El Modena communities to promote continuity of community through the area, and discussion of concerns by Slater about high crime rates led the communities being looped into discussion.
Unincorporated areas are policed by the county, and generally have to prioritize calls for service more strictly because of their limited presence over a large area. If incorporated, areas in Orange like El Modena would be serviced by the Orange Police Department.
“We all have our own identity, but El Modena has been intact the entire time, but you’ve cut us in half, and we need to remain whole,” Gutierrez said at Tuesday’s meeting.
The city also opted not to conduct a formal survey, with a “yes or no” to annexation, but get feedback from residents about what is important to them to be preserved if an annexation were to proceed.
After discussing, Slater ultimately motioned to direct staff to establish necessary services – like ambulance, trash and sewer – gauge community interest and determine costs.
Annexation Process
If the city eventually agrees to move forward with annexation of the unincorporated areas, they will have multiple paths to go down in order to officially include the islands in the city.
For pockets less than 150 acres, which is three out of the four being considered, the city will have to meet with several groups, including the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission and residents, to determine interest.
Following this agreement, the OC Board of Supervisors has to agree to the annexation, and lastly, a public hearing is scheduled. The whole process can take anywhere from six to 12 months.
However, if the pocket of land is greater than 150 acres, which is only Santiago Creek, more outreach to residents must be done and OC LAFCO is required to hold a protest hearing and take written protests for 21 to 60 days.
In areas with more than 12 registered voters, if 25% of voters protest, the annexation can continue. If 25% to 50% of voters protest, an election is required. If more than 50% protest, the annexation is turned back.
In areas with less than 12 registered voters, if more than 50% protest, the proceedings are cancelled.
This process would take 12 to 18 months, or even longer if an election is needed.
City Costs Amid Deficit
The decision to consider annexing land in Orange comes shortly after serious budget discussions took place just a few months ago, with major cuts and reallocations taking place.
[Read: Is Municipal Bankruptcy on the Horizon if Orange’s Sales Tax Measure Fails?]
According to a document provided by OC LAFCO at the meeting, the county currently spends $2,099,692 to maintain the island, with primary expenses coming from animal control, law enforcement and infrastructure maintenance.
At the meeting, the city looked to property tax revenue to cushion the costs of acquiring the land.
However, because of existing agreements with the county, the city would only receive 51% of property tax, with the county retaining the other 49%, meaning that the city could bring in $14,222 from property tax in the four annexed districts, according to the OC LAFCO document.
Despite deciding not to move forward with the inclusion of Orange Park Acres, the area would have brought in an additional $157,752, according to OC LAFCO.
The decision to potentially spend just over $2 million on the unincorporated land acquisition comes as Orange stared down a $4.4 million budget shortfall and talks of potential bankruptcy.
In June of this year, city officials voted to put a one-cent sales tax measure on November ballots in an attempt to bring in revenue to the city’s struggling budget.
Earlier this year, in an attempt to balance their budget, they cut and froze $6 million-worth in vacant positions and transferred $15 million from various funds to balance the budget.
[Read: Orange Officials Place 1% Sales Tax Measure on November Ballot After Indecision]
State Housing Mandates
If the city chooses to annex the islands, they would also be responsible for their allocated housing requirements.
The state provides cities amounts of housing that must be built in order to meet population demands, with the units being divided by income level.
The levels include very low, low, moderate and above moderate-income housing. Every city also has its own income markers, with housing levels being based on local medians.
When the current housing cycle began in 2019, the median income in Orange was about $91,793 for a family of three. In 2024, it was $117,113, according to the U.S. Census.
According to the state Housing and Community Development department, OC’s median income for a four person household is $138,600, though those making under $148,850 are considered low income by the state.
The city of Orange has been assigned 3,936 units, with 1,067 for very low-income households, 604 units for low-income, 677 units for moderate-income and 1,588 units for above-moderate income households.
If Orange were to annex the unincorporated areas, they would need to account for an additional 759 units total, largely coming from Olive Heights and El Modena.
At Tuesday’s meeting, it was unclear whether those remaining units would have to be built within the island boundaries or whether they could be spread across the county.
The city will revisit the topic with the new information request by council no later than February 2027.
Michelle King is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood fellow. You can reach her at mcaitlin254@gmail.com.
