News: Council Member Nancy Gardner

city council district 6 v corona del mar & newport coast

Nancy Gardner

council member v newport beach, california

newsletter: december 2010

DEFLATION
Not an economic trend but the overall reaction to the first proposal for the current city hall site. The idea was to come up with a unifying vision for the area – the city’s property, Lido Marina Village, and the Pavilion’s market site – through a committee made up of interested parties and planners. The presentation to council started with a review of various ideas that had been discussed during the process, and there was one highlight after another, culminating in the suggestion of a new canal with all the waterside possibilities this represents. With all this buildup, I waited eagerly for the final proposal. What a letdown. No canal. No parks and pedestrian walkways. No excitement. The only concrete item was a concrete item–a large parking structure that would take up a significant part of the city’s property. I was not alone in my lack of enthusiasm, so it was back to the drawing board for the committee. There was one agreeable aspect to the proposal which was a couple of ways to reconfigure the docks in Lido Marina Village to allow greater access to and views of the water.

PORT THEATER
Out walking the other day I passed the side door of the Port Theater which was open, so I peeked inside. I don’t know quite what I expected, but it wasn’t nothing . . . which was essentially what I saw. Lots of bare floor suggested there’s still quite a bit to do before any grand opening.

BUSINESS HELP
The city, in conjunction with the Newport Beach and Corona del Mar Chambers of Commerce, is hosting “Re-launch Your Business in 2011,” which offers 100 days of free training to improve one’s business. Probably The Irvine Company won’t be utilizing the service, but if you know of some small business that might be interested, they can contact 100@opismail.com

SAYONARA, FUJI GRILL
The city and Fuji Grill, the concession at Big Corona, have decided to part ways. An RFP is currently out for a successor.

FLOW ON, O’ STREAM OF CARS
The reworking of the San Miguel/MacArthur intersection has been completed. I sat for about ten minutes watching the cars one afternoon (no, my life isn’t that mundane. I was early for the ribbon cutting), and for the cars leaving Newport Center, it seemed like a big improvement. For the cars turning right onto San Miguel, it wasn’t quite as smooth because a lot of people didn’t realize there was more than one lane to turn into. I thought a sign indicating the turn lanes might help, but the general consensus was that within a few days everyone who regularly uses that turn will have wised up.

WHAT IS A WORKING HARBOR?
That’s something the Harbor Commission is helping determine. The commission has long been concerned with the direction of the city when it comes to the real estate around the bay. As we all know, anything on the water brings a premium, and this presents a challenge: how do you maintain marine-related businesses–which the General Plan advocates–when rising rents coupled with conversion of waterfront properties from commercial to residential has forced many such businesses to move elsewhere? This gives rise to a second question: how many of these businesses can leave before you no longer have a viable harbor for boats? The commission has put together a list of what it considers vital services which will be presented to the council in the hope that this will generate more specific discussion of the issue.

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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.

Council Member 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