city council district 6 v corona del mar & newport coast
Nancy Gardner
mayor pro tem v newport beach, california
newsletter: november 2011
JUST BECAUSE YOU DON’T
GET YOUR WAY…
Council members read the same documents, listen to
the same presentations, hear the same public comments and yet often come to
different conclusions. When I’m on the wrong end of a vote I may wonder how
my fellow council members can go through the same material and come to such
different (and obviously misguided) conclusions, but I can’t complain about
the process. I had my opportunities to speak and try to persuade them, and I
didn’t prevail. The same thing holds with residents. Many’s the time an
individual goes to a city committee, commission or the council, presents
his/her position, gets turned down, and then insists the system is flawed –
if not corrupt. It’s important to remember that the system doesn’t guarantee
the outcome. It guarantees – or at least tries to – the process. And just
like Buckwheat, sometimes you lose.
PUBLIC DOCKS
Many think of Newport Beach as the home of the
big and the brash, and we certainly have our share of big, brash boats, but
the city, with many helpful suggestions from the Harbor Commission, has made
a concerted effort to not only preserve but enhance access to the harbor.
One of these efforts was the inclusion of a public dock by Sol Cantina and
Three Thirty Three during the development of Balboa Marina. This was jolly
for the restaurants, but not so jolly for nearby residents who complained of
late-night noise from happy patrons fetching their boats from the public
tie-up. The Commission worked on a proposal which shifted the public dock a
bit and put into place new regulations for better control, but now there is
a new idea – to move the public docks all the way over to where the Reuben
E. Lee was berthed as part of an expansion of the marina. This would provide
an increased number of public tie-ups as well as provide greater distance
between the dock and residences. The concept will be presented to the Harbor
Commission and the Tidelands Management Committee to get some initial
reaction.
DOLPHIN DILEMMA
No, not Miami and their record
this season, but the topiary in the medians at Marguerite and PCH in Corona
del Mar. Like a great deal of the country, they are obese – to the point
that there is some suggestion that they are not actually dolphins but maybe
manatees or even pilot whales. Clearly, a little weight loss is in order,
but you can’t just go in and shear away the rotundity. Trimming topiary
takes the skill of a good plastic surgeon except that one errant snip
doesn’t mean simply a bad nose job. It can mean the death of the bush. The
CdM BID (Business Improvement District) has taken on the responsibility of
finding the right tree surgeon to restore the dolphins to their svelte
natural state.
FIRE RINGS
At a council meeting a couple of years ago, Mark Harmon, our director of
Municipal Operations, was reporting on some difficulty involving the fire
rings at Big Corona. This wasn’t the first difficulty there had been, and I
said, without much thought, “If they’re that much trouble, maybe we should
just get rid of them.” OMG, as they text. You’d think I had suggested
pulling down the Statue of Liberty. Within days there was a Facebook page to
save the fire pits, TV stations wanted to interview me, and I was inundated
by emails – both for and against. It was a very inflammable issue (sorry),
one that promised to take up a lot of time and energy, not just for me,
flitting around to all my media appointments, but much more important, for
the city as a whole. Since this was the same period when we were addressing
budget shortfalls, it was felt wisest to douse the fire by tabling the
subject for the time being. I sent that information to those who had
communicated to me, with a promise that I would let them know if and when we
took it up again. Recently, Huntington Beach got slapped with a half million
dollar lawsuit for a fire-ring injury, and it seemed time to revisit the
issue. The Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission has appointed a
subcommittee to review the subject and come back to the commission and
ultimately the council with their findings and suggestions. I sent the
information to the email list as promised, and at least so far it hasn’t
generated the same sparks.
NEW ADDRESS
At the recommendation of the city attorney, I will be using a city address
for city business:
ngardner@newportbeachca.gov. Don’t worry if you forget it. I’ll
still be using the AOL one, too.
FUTURE TOPIC SUGGESTIONS
This is a two-way process, so please don’t hesitate to contact me with your ideas and opinions.
Mayor Pro Tem 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: ngardner@newportbeachca.gov
Copyright 2011 v Nancy Gardner v All Rights Reserved