As of noon on Monday, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department was no longer providing public safety patrols for Sunset Beach, according to Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach.
That responsibility has been taken over by the Huntington Beach Police Department.
The change is a sign that the small beachside community may soon no longer exist as an unincorporated “island,” but will officially become a part of the much larger city of Huntington Beach.
According to Moorlach, the only outstanding issue is a one-year delay in the transfer of property tax revenues.
However, the feisty group known at the Citizen’s Association of Sunset Beach has vowed to fight on for the neighborhood’s independence.
The group’s representatives said they plan to appeal an Aug. 19 ruling by Orange County Superior Court Judge Frederick P. Horn denying the association’s writ in the matter of Citizen’s Association of Sunset Beach vs. Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission and the city of Huntington Beach.
To fight the annexation, the association had cited Proposition 218, which says a municipality cannot impose a new tax without the vote of the people.
The city is requiring new residents to pay a Utility Users Tax. However, the Judge said the rule doesn’t apply to annexation.
“His decision takes an entirely different view of the 1999 Attorney General Opinion, which he referred to in his ruling granting our preliminary injunction last January,” said Diana Dodson, the association’s vice president. “The judge’s decision is surprisingly short on analysis.”
On Aug. 24, Dodson said, the association’s attorney asked the judge to issue an order to temporarily stay the implementation of the annexation by the County and Huntington Beach.
“This would allow us time to file an appeal with the California Appeals courts and ask for a permanent stay on the annexation until the appeal was heard at the appeals court level,” she said. “The judge did not approve the stay and continued the matter until Sept. 14, so he could further review the issues surrounding the matter.”
Dodson said attorneys representing the association, Huntington Beach and Orange County LAFCO are expected to file further briefs with the court.
“Unfortunately, the judge’s decision to continue the matter also prevents us from filing the appeal until Judge Horn has issued his decision regarding the stay,” Dodson said. “Needless to say we are very disappointed with the trial court’s decision so far. But, there is nothing in the decision that changes our opinion of the strength of our case.”
Dodson said the association is committed to getting the decision reversed on appeal.
“It is not uncommon for cases which are lost in the lower court to prevail on appeal, and based on the judge’s comments on Aug. 11 we were expecting our case might be heard in appellate Court on appeal regardless of the outcome.”
Officials from Orange County LAFCO were quoted by other media this week as saying that the annexation of Sunset Beach to Huntington Beach would still have to get a final sign-off by the State Board of Equalization, but that it is a formality.
Huntington Beach officials approved the annexation in November and Orange County LAFCO gave the go ahead in December.
The association’s lawsuit has stalled the process.
In a letter to the residents of Sunset Beach, the association reiterated its resolve.
“We strongly resolve to continue this battle for our community,” the letter said. “We appreciate your continued support of the effort to fight the annexation. Together we can make a difference and keep Sunset Beach a better place to live.”
