city council district 6 v corona del mar & newport coast
Nancy Gardner
councilwoman v newport beach, california
october UPDATE
RESTAURANT NOISE AND PARKING
An ongoing complaint in old Corona del Mar concerns restaurant noise and parking. Since it’s the rare restaurant that has adequate on-site parking, many patrons park in front of people’s houses, as do employees.
On October 3 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, I am hosting a town hall meeting in the Friends Room of the Central Library to discuss these issues with residents. Representatives from the Police Department and Code Enforcement will also be there.
Subsequently, I will present the issues to restaurant owners and managers in the hopes that we can find some short-term solutions.
The information from both meetings will be presented to the consultants hired to do a city-wide parking study.
GROUP HOMES
The Council has hired new outside counsel (the homonyms make for confusing testimony) to advise us on this issue.
The firm of Richards, Watson, Gershon will take a fresh look at the ordinance that will be proposed.. We have been told that a number of cities are holding up any action of their own until they see how we fare.
I sat down with Senator Harmon who introduced a bill to have a 300 foot distancing requirement for group homes. It didn’t get out of committee. Apparently, his fellow committee members felt that if this authority was given to cities we would eventually eliminate all group homes.
I would imagine that a good percentage of state senators got their start at the city level, so it always amazes me how insensitive they can be to city needs, but I suppose once you get up to Sacramento your perspective changes.
FIRE LANES
Several communities in Newport Coast didn’t have fire lanes when they were annexed, so it was a shock to the residents when the fire marshal discovered the omission and indicated all the areas that would no longer available for parking.
Some intense negotiations ensued and are still ongoing, but we are getting closer to a combination of convenience, aesthetics and fire safety that everyone can agree to.
THERE HAS TO BE AN EASIER WAY
On September 4, Carol McDermott, Sharon Wood, Mary Lonich and I flew up to Eureka. The Balboa Theater parking issue was on the Coastal Commission agenda.
Because of the airline schedule we had to get there the day before. We did our best to amuse ourselves, and the next morning went to the meeting where, five minutes before the meeting started, the issue was resolved with staff. It could easily have been done over the phone, saving air fare, rooms, meals and much time!
I fervently believe in the mission of the Coastal Commission, but I believe almost as fervently that they could use a good management consultant.
OCEAN BOULEVARD
This year residents along Ocean Boulevard noticed an increasing amount of noise and trouble in their area, primarily from after-hours use of the beach.
For the summer, a foot patrol was added for Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. With summer over, the foot patrol is being retired.
This will give the police an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the other elements of the program including permanent surveillance cameras which notify the police if anyone walks down to the beach after hours; starting beach clearance announcements at 8:30 pm to be sure the beach is clear at 10:00 pm; and the re-installation of a gate that prevents cars from parking in the lot after the beach is closed.
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WHAT DO YOU THINK?
> CdM Parking
> Palm Trees
> City Hall Location
> Other
Concerns
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
Copyright 2007 v Nancy Gardner v All Rights Reserved