NORTH TUSTIN : Denial of Cityhood Upheld on Appeal

A regional land planning agency’s earlier decision to deny North Tustin cityhood held fast Wednesday, but area residents said the battle is not over.

“I think what this says is the people that live in the area have been denied the right to self-determination,” said Marvin Rawitch, co-chairman of Citizens for More Local Control, the group pushing for incorporation.

“This is merely a major episode in the very long history of the community,” added Rawitch. “You could only foresee . . . that the constant battle will continue.”

Officials from the Local Agency Formation Commission, however, said the battle is over.

“This proposal, as far as LAFCO jurisdiction is concerned, is over. Really the only thing they can do now is file a lawsuit,” said James Colangelo, executive director of the agency.

LAFCO originally rejected North Tustin’s incorporation proposal by a 4-0 vote Feb. 5. The panel denied the proposal because the nine-square-mile area between Tustin and Orange is all residential, has no economic foundation and would depend on an 11% utility tax for survival.

Wednesday’s action by LAFCO was on an appeal to reverse that decision and have the issue placed on the November ballot. If the commission had overturned its decision, it would have been the first time in the state that voters would have been asked to approve a city requiring a new tax for survival.

Colangelo said the commission reinforced its earlier decision because incorporation proponents produced no new information to overturn the original vote.