Midway City, California - Municipal Annexation

Municipal Annexation

Being an unincorporated county area, municipal annexation by cities whose border is in physical contact with Midway City' border is an ongoing issue for Midway City. Attempts at complete annexation have met fierce resistance from Midway's residents, who would rather have their community remain an unincorporated area of Orange County to maintain water and property tax rates that are lower than neighboring communities. However, Midway City's land adjacent to its borders slowly has been annexed by Westminster over time, particularly along the heavily traveled Beach Boulevard/California State Route 39 where that annexed land could be redeveloped to generate significant business tax revenue for Westminster. As a result, Midway City presently is composed of four anemic sections, or "islands", that are having stepped boundaries.

Islands with less than 150 acres can be annexed without a vote by the annexation targeted island. According to the June 2012 land records published by the Orange County Public Facilities and Resources Department, Midway City occupies about 391 acres within an 832 acre rectangular boundary, where the four islands approximately measure as follows: the northeast island 296.6 acres, the southwest island 40.5 acres, the southeast island 33 acres, and northwest island 21.1 acres. Of these, Midway City's southwest island includes land along the heavily traveled Beach Boulevard/California State Route 39 that could be redeveloped to generate significant business tax revenue for Westminster.