city council district 6 v corona del mar & newport coast
Nancy Gardner
councilwoman v newport beach, california
may UPDATE
“It doesn’t matter what they say as long as they spell your name
right.” I got that absolutely backward last month, saying nice things
but spelling Alan Mansoor’s name wrong. Apologies.
BEGONIA PARK
The new General Plan states that public views are to be protected and enhanced
and designates Begonia Park as a public view. There is a small (very small) lot
at the corner of Pacific Drive and Begonia that many people assumed was part of
the park but which is actually a privately-owned lot. Now the owners wish to
build on that lot. In their first pass they sought height and other variances
which would have eliminated the view from many perspectives. The Planning
Commission suggested they try again, but it is difficult to imagine how the
owners can create the house they want and still protect let alone enhance the
view. This will be an interesting test for General Plan policies.
GREEN BUILDING TASK FORCE
Another General Plan policy seeks to increase energy efficiency throughout
the city by promoting energy-efficient design features. I am chairing a new task
force made up of three members from the Environmental Quality Affairs Committee
and three members from the General Plan Implementation Committee (two architects
and a planning commissioner) which will be presenting a range of proposals on
green buildings and other energy conservation measures in the coming months.
CITY HALL
We are having a design competition for the new City Hall. The Council’s building
committee and a group of local architects have done a great job (I can say that
because I’m not on the committee) laying out design parameters that reflect
community concerns but are general enough to allow for design creativity.
Instead of plopping one more building down, one of the mandates is for the
participating architects to look at the area as a whole–Corona del Mar Plaza,
the central library, the park/city hall site and the three acres on the other
side of San Miguel–in terms of circulation and cohesion while protecting view
planes and the natural habitat area. Architects from around the world have
expressed interest in the project, and it will be exciting to see what the four
or five competitors come up with.
EEL GRASS
Took a meeting with staff from the National Marine Fisheries Service. This is
the entity that has promulgated the eel grass policy which has made it virtually
impossible for dock owners to dredge their slips. Always interesting dealing
with an agency. At one point I finally said, “Are you saying that because there
is eel grass in the harbor we’re supposed to tell people that their boats can
just sit on the bottom?” “Oh no no no no. We’re just saying–“ Well, that seemed
to be what I heard, but anyway, we did make some headway. Instead of dealing
with it on a slip-by-slip basis, they would like to see a comprehensive
approach, something I’m sure boat owners would also like, so at our next meeting
the City will present just such a program, based on sound science provided by
our consultants. There will be a lot of arm wrestling, but hopefully we will end
up with a policy that will provide for this important habitat and at the same
time allow the harbor to function for boats.
PARKING
The consultants who are doing the city’s parking study will tackle Corona
del Mar first. They held a meeting recently that was a combination of Parking
101, an explanation of their methodology, and Q and A with residents and
business owners. Although not ruling them out, they expressed a wariness of
parking structures as expensive and often disruptive to the ambience of an area.
To the surprise of their clients, they find that often cities have a sufficient
number of parking spaces but not a good parking management system which makes it
seem like lots or structures are needed. A steering committee of residents and
businesses will act as a sounding board as they begin their study of the
village. The consultants expect an analysis in a couple of months.
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 2008 v Nancy Gardner v All Rights Reserved