News: Council Member Nancy Gardner

city council district 6 v corona del mar & newport coast

Nancy Gardner

mayor v newport beach, california

newsletter: APRIL 2012

THIS IS TOO EASY

The city is currently competing in the Wyland Foundation’s Mayor’s Challenge to be number one in the nation in water conservation. That might seem like a daunting undertaking, but it couldn’t be simpler. All you have to do is go to mywaterpledge.com and check all the things you’re doing (and I know you’re doing all of them). It takes approximately 15 seconds, you could win a prize, and the city could get bragging rights. Since we do it anyway (save water), let’s get as much swag and swagger as we can out of our good practices.

FIRE MAPS

The state finally came out with its fire maps, and about two minutes on the job, new Fire Chief Poster got to work making alterations that would decrease the areas affected. Under his proposed maps, Morning Canyon and Lower Buck Gully would see no changes in the existing requirements. Upper and Middle Buck Gully would have to do fuel modification, but this doesn’t mean residents must lose all their trees or vegetation. Judicial pruning and spacing are required but not wholesale removal . Also, there should be no fire insurance rate increases because the insurers have already made their evaluations on the area. For more information or to schedule a presentation, contact Fire Inspector Steve Michael, smichael@nbfd.net or Fire Marshal Ron Gamble, rgamble@nbfd.net, 644-3106.

ON THE ONE HAND

We have a gentleman in our city who is very interested in city government. He spends many hours each day at city hall reviewing various things. As a matter of curiosity I asked if he took up much staff time. The estimate was ten hours a week. Now on the one hand, I’m all for having a hobby, particularly one with a goal of civic involvement. On the other hand, it seems like a lavish gift of public services to one individual. However, if certain cities had had someone like this gentleman poking around, perhaps certain things might have been uncovered earlier. How do you know? There’s the rub.

GARAGE SALES

A few weekends ago I got a call from a neighbor. Someone was having a garage sale in the park. That wasn’t allowed, was it? I went out and had a cordial conversation with the woman who said she had gone online to the city’s web site and there was nothing on there about not being in the park. “Nonsense,” I thought, and hurried back to the house where I have a set of the city’s ordinances. I went to the index. No garage sales, estate sales, yard sales. I got on the city’s web site. Same thing. Now I know there is something somewhere that forbids garage sales in public parks, otherwise we would be inundated with such sales, so I contacted the city attorney, decrying my own ineptitude at discovery. Well, it took him a few minutes to find the applicable statute, and there was no trigger word in the title that any ordinary person would think of, so we will be making an addition to the city’s website to make the information more accessible.

CERT

The spring session of CERT training is complete, and we are now up to over one thousand residents trained to help in a disaster situation. The volunteers are well dispersed except for the Newport Coast area. For more information on future classes, contact the Newport Beach Fire Department, 644-3112.

MEALS ON WHEELS

This is a program that enables many people to stay in their homes despite age or disability. Volunteers bring a day’s worth of food—a meal already hot and ready to be eaten, a second meal and a snack. Just as important, they bring human contact. I went on a ride-along and was impressed with how much the volunteer knew about the people he visited, the nice conversations between them. It was sobering to realize that might be the only interaction the recipient might have, but I know it’s rewarding to the volunteers to realize that they’re not only feeding the bodies but also feeding a bit of the soul.

REMINDER
My email address for city business is: NGardner@newportbeachca.gov.

Don’t worry if you forget it. I’ll still be using the AOL one, too.

=> Return to Newsletters

FUTURE TOPIC SUGGESTIONS

This is a two-way process, so please don’t hesitate to contact me with your ideas and opinions.

Mayor 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