News: Councilwoman Nancy Gardner

city council district 6 v corona del mar & newport coast

Nancy Gardner

councilwoman v newport beach, california

newsletter: august 2009

FIRE RINGS
When someone first approached me about getting rid of the fire rings at the beach, I wasn’t that receptive. It’s part of the beach experience–roasting marshmallows around a campfire–but some things have made me reconsider. One is simply the mess. Standing barefoot around a ring I stumbled over easily a dozen discarded coat hangers buried in the sand. Walking past I’ve found broken bottles half-buried, an invitation for stitches and undoubtedly the result of nighttime activities we would like to discourage. The rings are sometimes used as a substitute for a garage clean-out with people attempting to burn all sorts of things in addition to firewood, and on busy summer weekends people arrive as early as 4:00 am to reserve them, necessitating a visit by the police to send them off the beach until it opens at 6:00 am. All this has led me to wonder if it might not be a nicer beach experience without them. There’d be more room on the sand which would be cleaner, and our beaches would be less of a magnet for nighttime misbehavior. On the other hand, a lot of people like them. Thoughts?

READY! SET! GO!
Not the start of an athletic event but an effort by the Fire Department to make the City safer. Provided to residents whose homes border Buck Gully and Morning Canyon, RSG consists of an instructional booklet and DVD plus a score sheet prepared by the NBFD which rates the fire safety of each property as to its fire risk. And speaking of safety, on August 19, the Corona del Mar Residents Association will host a meeting at Sherman Gardens with the focus on neighborhood preparedness. The social activities begin at 5:30 pm with the speakers' program from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm.

BICYCLES
Councilman Henn and I have been talking to a company that wants to introduce a new transportation concept to the city--a system of rental bikes which would be available to residents and visitors alike and would be situated in various convenient locations. No worries about parking your car or having your own valuable bike stolen. All you do is put your card in the vending slot, free your bike and ride off. You can return the bike to its original station or leave it at another one. Fees range from an annual membership to daily rates. Right now it’s launching in Montreal, so we’ll see how it goes there.

CORONA DEL MAR LIBRARY
The branch turned fifty and was looking its age, but then Library Services did its version of plastic surgery, and now there’s a fresh, young version. It’s opened up inside with new areas for laptops and extended hours on Tuesday and Wednesday for students. The children’s section has lots of new books, more tables for crafts and will have a comfortable seating area for parents. The grown-ups’ section emphasizes current books, most three years or newer, with the ability to order books from every other branch and have them delivered to CdM. All this and coffee and tea.

BANNING RANCH
Our consultant has been busy looking for funding for a purchase of the Banning Ranch property. Among those he has spoken with: California State Coastal Conservancy, OCTA (Measure M funds), Wildlands Conservancy and Resources Law Group. Several of those he contacted were familiar with Banning Ranch and felt that since there was proposed development, the City should make use of the development entitlement process to preserve part of area rather than using public funding to purchase the entire property. At this point, there seems little likelihood of funds from state bonds or private foundations. That doesn’t mean that things couldn’t change, however, so the City will continue to keep in touch with potential funders.

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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