City Manager Responds To El Morro Annexation Question

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Complaints of lengthy police response times and inconsistent 911 calls have been the focus of concerned El Morro Elementary School teachers, parents, the Laguna Beach Unified School District, the City of Laguna Beach and the Laguna Beach Police Department.

El Morro school is at the northernmost, unincorporated area of Laguna Beach. Bordering Crystal Cove State Park and the Newport Coast, any 911 calls should be answered by the Orange County Sheriff's Department. The Laguna Beach Police Department will attend criminal complaints made in the area, they said, however formalizing who is responsible is the question of the day.

On September 27, an El Morro Elementary School teacher called 911 after a traffic collision. That initial call, made by landline from the El Morro School office, was routed to the Orange County Sheriff's Department, the dispatch call was dropped.

A subsequent call was answered by the Newport Beach police, who routed them back to the Laguna Beach Police. Ultimately, School Resource Officer Cornelius Ashton was called, according to a report by the Laguna Beach Independent.

Parents and teachers feel that El Morro, now outside of the Laguna Beach Police Department's jurisdiction, should be annexed by the city. Laguna Beach's city manager disagrees.

In response, Pietig released this editorial:

Although the City responds to most 9-1-1 calls relating to the school, the Orange County Sheriff's Department has formal responsibility for serving [El Morro Elementary School] since it is in an unincorporated area of the County.

In response to concerns from the meeting, the City has secured authorization from the Sheriff's department to exercise police powers for all activities occurring at El Morro school. In furtherance of this authorization, the Laguna Beach Police Department (LBPD) has been directed to respond to all calls at El Morro school (as of October 3), and the City Council will have the ability to formalize this arrangement at its meeting on October 29.

LBPD has also been directed to analyze how 9-1-1 calls are routed from landlines and cell phones with the goal of getting all such calls routed directly to LBPD dispatch.

The issue of possible annexation has also come up.

In order for the City of Laguna Beach to annex the area encompassing El Morro school, it would need to also annex the state RV park and county open space to the City's northern boundary. If the City is successful at ensuring 9-1-1 calls are routed to LBPD dispatch, and continues providing police services to El Morro school, annexation would have no bearing on policing services or the resources to provide such services. In addition, annexation is a lengthy process at taxpayer expense.

LBPD's School Resource Officer (SRO) position was also discussed at the PTA meeting.

The City provides the current SRO and covers annual costs in excess of $185,000 a year. I will be discussing options for the addition of a second SRO with the School District Superintendent, and I will provide an update to the City Council at its October 29 meeting.

At lot of progress has been made in the last month and more work is underway. Look for the next update at the October 29 City Council meeting.

John Pietig

City Manager