News: Councilwoman Nancy Gardner

city council district 6 v corona del mar & newport coast

Nancy Gardner

councilwoman v newport beach, california

august UPDATE

CORONA DEL MAR BRANCH LIBRARY MEETING
As I have mentioned, there is a plan to relocate the Corona del Mar branch to the Oasis as part of the new building. As envisioned, it would be geared for adults, especially seniors, and eliminate the children’s section. There will be an opportunity to hear about the plan in more detail and voice support or opposition on August 27, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am and from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, at the CdM branch.

DREDGING
Everyone agrees the harbor needs dredging. Every year the Army Corps of Engineers puts it on the list of projects, and we send emissaries back to D.C to plead for the funding, but every year they come back with empty pockets. The result is a harbor that is less and less navigable. To get the job done, the City is considering a new approach. The Corps would dredge the whole harbor. In return, the City would take over all future maintenance. Feelers have been sent out, and there has been interest expressed, but since it’s Washington, I wouldn’t go out and buy a bigger boat thinking it’s going to happen.

LITTLE CORONA CLEANING
A few weeks ago I was down at Little Corona catching a few waves and was shocked at how dirty the beach was. Since Little Corona is an ASBS (Area of Special Biological Significance), it can’t be cleaned in the same way Big Corona is, but staff used its collective ingenuity to come up with a way to protect the integrity of the beach while giving it a good cleaning.

TREES
I don’t know how everyone else feels, but I have palm tree fatigue. I think we’ve overdone it in the last few years, particularly as they don’t provide shade or much bird habitat. I don’t want to change out things that are already planted, but I’m hoping to persuade the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission to agree to some new choices for the district in the future.

CITY HALL
At Council meetings and in the local papers it seems to be all about the park and the park site, but I have been getting a steady stream of emails from people who can’t understand why we’re ignoring the current site. Most of them like the history associated with the present site and feel that concerns about tsunamis are misplaced. To that point, all of our records are archived off site, so no matter where we end up, in the event of a disaster they will be safe. I’d be interested in hearing any thoughts on this.

BACK BAY SCIENCE CENTER
The building is almost complete, and now the focus shifts to what’s inside. Initially, the Department of Fish and Game (DFG), which controls the property, wanted programs geared more to the elementary school level, but there are already a number of programs, some at the Mary & Peter Muth Interpretive Center, some farther down the coast at the Ocean Institute, which are geared to that level, so the City and others have been promoting programs for high school and college students that could produce real science, the sort of thing that would help us better understand and protect the bay. The County’s Public Health Agency lab, which is on site, and UCI were among those interested in this approach, and at a recent meeting DFG seemed amenable while reserving the right to doing something for the younger crowd.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

      > CdM Branch Library Closure

      > Palm Trees

      > City Hall Location

FUTURE TOPIC SUGGESTIONS

This is a two-way process, so please don’t hesitate to contact me with your ideas and opinions.

Councilwoman Nancy Gardner

QUALITY OF LIFE Advocate FOR NEWPORT BEACH

City of Newport Beach - 3300 Newport Blvd - Newport Beach, CA 92663

Phone: 949.644.3004 - EMAIL: gardnerncy@aol.com

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