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Annexation is a big word, but its meaning is straightforward. It’s the legal process by which a city
acquires jurisdiction over a piece of land that’s within the city’s “sphere of influence” but not
within its existing boundaries.
A city’s decision to annex land, however, is an intricate process that involves planning and negotiation
between the city and the landowner, says Irvine City Councilman Michael Ward, who represented Irvine
in the Northern Sphere agreement discussions.
Ward cites the extended planning talks that transpired between The Irvine Company and city leaders, planners,
community groups and residents in shaping the Northern Sphere plan.
“Reaching a negotiated agreement as to how the land will be used before it’s annexed gives the city an idea
of what annexation will mean for city services, revenues and quality of life,” Ward says. “For the landowner,
an agreed upon plan provides some certainty of the development standards and regulations that will be
required by the city.”
Ward credits the annexation agreement for “giving the City of Irvine the ability to ensure that the last major piece
of property within our sphere of influence is developed to our high standard. Leaving this land under county
control would not have been in our best interest.”
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More than 4,600 acres - nearly 60% of the entire Northern Sphere
area - will remain permanently protected open space. |
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When City of Irvine officials embraced the importance of annexing the land known as the Northern
Sphere so that Irvine — and Irvine alone — controlled land use in that area, Ronald
Reagan was still
in his first term. Cabbage Patch dolls were being harvested in record numbers from every toy store in
the nation. And the phrase World Wide Web was still years away from becoming a part of everyday life.
It was 1984. And it was the year the city and The Irvine Company — owner of the
Northern Sphere land — jointly wrote and signed a “memorandum of understanding” reaffirming
Irvine’s determination to bring the Northern Sphere into its boundaries so that the city could control
its own destiny.
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