News: Councilwoman Nancy Gardner

city council district 6 v corona del mar & newport coast

Nancy Gardner

councilwoman v newport beach, california

newsletter: november 2009

A HOT TOPIC
This one took me by surprise–fire rings. I suggested they have outlived their usefulness, and not only have I been inundated with impassioned emails on both sides of the issue (even one from someone who lives in Florida calling me old and cranky. Pshaw), the Register, the Times, radio and TV stations have wanted interviews. On fire rings? Anyway, the staff report will probably come after the first of the year. If it suggests we have authority over the fire rings, the next step will be a study session or town hall meeting so that everyone can weigh in.

GRAYWATER
In the past if you wanted to meet California’s graywater standards (graywater is defined as wastewater from bathtubs, showers, washing machines but not kitchen sinks, dishwashers or toilets) you basically had to jackhammer your foundation and install a new plumbing system. The result was that there were very few legal graywater systems (during Santa Barbara’s severe drought, fifty permits were issued, but it’s estimated that at least 500 systems were actually in use). Facing another drought, the state has come to its senses and issued emergency graywater standards which let you easily tap into your clothes washer without a building permit. Directions are available from the city’s Building Department.

GUTTERS
When I was a child, there was a popular song whose refrain went, “putty, putty, cement mixer.” That’s all I remember of it, but if cement mixers have their song, street sweepers should as well. Recently, Jack and Nancy Skinner (the backbone of clean water efforts in the city and beyond) and city staff performed a simple but informative experiment. I won’t go into all the scientific controls, but it was basically putting clean water in dry streets and testing for bacteria. Among the findings, there was a lot less bacteria found after the street sweeper made its regular rounds which supports the notion that street sweeping is one of our best tools in maintaining water quality, so you lyricists out there get to work.

SOLICITORS
The other night there was a knock at the door. Mouse went into his best imitation of a ferocious watchdog, and I went into my best imitation of someone holding back a ferocious watchdog as I cracked the door ajar. As the solicitor started his spiel I said, politely, that I was not interested. He persisted, I said it three more times, and then as I pulled my head back and started to close the door he told me to “**** myself,” and flipped me off. Not a lot of people are going to take a chance that the seventy-pound dog in front of me is all show and no go, so I felt pretty safe, but it was also still daylight savings, and if it had been dark I probably would have been more uncomfortable, so I’m glad that we’ll be looking at the subject of shortening our solicitation hours, probably at the November 24 study session.

LEAF BLOWERS
Council will be getting a recommendation from the Environmental Quality Affairs Committee meeting on leaf blowers and other landscape maintenance equipment. Citing air and noise pollution, EQAC is urging the Council to determine whether there should be a complete ban, new standards or a retention of the status quo.

PARKING
The proposed one-year pilot parking program for CdM was presented recently at a study session. Briefly, it would meter the area from Avocado to Dahlia and have some kind of resident permit parking in the adjoining blocks. The proposal met with mixed reactions from council members, several of whom felt that we were correcting something that wasn’t really a problem. Staff will come back with a refined plan–dollars and specifics–which will be taken to the residents and businesses of the impacted area for their reactions, and if they like it, it will go to the council for a decision.

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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