News: Council Member Nancy Gardner

city council district 6 v corona del mar & newport coast

Nancy Gardner

council member v newport beach, california

newsletter: february 2011

CURRENT CITY HALL SITE
Lots of interesting ideas and opinions. The general direction at this point is a combination of public use such as a community center and a residential component, but there are lots of questions: Should the emphasis be on generating maximum revenue from the site with a small public facility and more housing, or should this be the site of a major community center along the lines of Newport Coast with a smaller housing component? If the latter, should the existing West Newport Center on 15th Street be converted to housing to generate income? How does a community facility on the city hall site affect plans for Marina Park? There’s also a proposed promenade through the various properties and potentially a canal. The promenade has gotten universal support, the canal a mix with some concerned about water quality issues and others feeling that blue space would be more productively used as green space. It’s an ongoing process so chime in.

PORT THEATER
When I was in high school, one of my friends whose father was an architect wouldn’t let him go to the Port Theater because he felt it was seismically unsound. Well, if an earthquake hits, and I’m anywhere near there, I’m ducking into the Port. One reason it hasn’t come along as quickly as many had hoped is that they have done major retrofitting with big steel beams and trusses, not an easy job in an existing building, but now most of that is completed, and they anticipate being open this year. As you may recall, the idea is to provide a more upscale movie experience that includes dining which counts me out. I’m crabby enough about the movie-going public with their cell phones and chatter. Add food service, and I’d just as soon watch it on my TV. Meanwhile, the Island cinemas at Fashion Island are closed for remodeling, to the consternation of the Newport Beach Film Festival which this year will be the Newport-Costa Mesa-Irvine-and-other-sites-as-necessary Film Festival.

NEW ANTI-SCAVENGING ORDINANCE
People going through trash cans present privacy issues as well as loss of revenue for the city when recyclables are removed. Apparently, the money can be pretty good because certain individuals bring in teams to cover an area which raises the potential, I would think, for criminal activity. The city has kicked it up to a misdemeanor to go through someone else’s trash in the hope of discouraging the activity. The police will respond if not on a more urgent matter, and during the day, Code Enforcement can also be contacted by phone at 644-3215.

ONE AND DONE
I’m talking this up. A few years ago it was being discussed fairly seriously–the idea that the Army Corps of Engineers would come in and dredge the harbor (One) and then the city would take over all responsibility (Done). The reason I like it is it’s something that might actually happen. ACE admits that it has a dredging responsibility, but it never has the funds, and given the current make up of Congress, it doesn’t look like that’s going to change. BUT . . . if we could go to the feds and show them that One and Done actually saves the federal government money over the course, we might make some headway. Obviously, there would be ongoing costs to the city, but we could put a plan together that would do regular small-scale dredging at a reasonable cost instead of every eighty years when the costs are so huge. As for eel grass, it’s looking like the controlling agencies may accept the city’s plan. Right now, the individual is on the hook for mitigating any loss of eel grass, and the process is arduous, to say the least. Under our proposal, the city would guarantee to maintain a certain amount of eel grass in the bay, and as long as we met the standard, we could issue dredging permits to the individuals.

HOW BIG IS BIG
One of the issues that is going to be addressed in the near future is the size of boats in the harbor–should there be a limit. One point of view says that if it can be parked–sorry, moored–there’s no problem. Others feel that large vessels make navigation difficult for other boats. Some also make a distinction between large private boats which make occasional voyages and are not used for cruises around the bay and commercial boats which may go out daily and that’s exactly where they go–around the bay. With a harbor that has kayakers, paddlers, sailors, anglers, racers and every degree of expertise from zero to the Olympics, it’s a balancing act.

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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