MISSION VIEJO : Poll on Aegean Hills Annexation Mailed

A citywide poll to determine whether citizens favor annexing the Aegean Hills community has been mailed to registered voters.

Residents will be asked whether they favor extending the city’s borders to include the 7,000-resident community. Deadline for return of the poll form is Jan. 29.

City officials are asking residents to send the survey back to City Hall as quickly as possible. Signatures on the poll forms must be checked manually, said City Clerk Ivy Joseph, and a flood of last-minute replies would require extra labor to count and verify the surveys.

The unincorporated community is bordered by Interstate 5 on the west and Mission Viejo to the east. Its north and south borders are La Paz Road and Los Alisos Boulevard.

One of the most controversial issues ever faced by the 4-year-old city, the Aegean Hills annexation created divisiveness among City Council members almost immediately after Mission Viejo’s incorporation in 1988. After months of bitter arguing, the council turned down the proposed annexation.

Fallout from the issue sparked a failed recall attempt against Councilman Robert A. Curtis, who pushed for the annexation.

So far, there has been almost no opposition to adding Aegean Hills to the city.

City officials have released a preliminary study suggesting that the Aegean Hills community would cost little in extra upkeep for services such as park and street maintenance. The report also indicates that sales and property tax revenue would add up $550,000 annually to city coffers.