Balboa Group to Tell City of Vision for Area

Rush Hill has a vision of a tidier and more prosperous Balboa Peninsula.

Hill, along with several other residents who have studied ways to boost business in Balboa, will share that vision with the City Council on Monday.

Balboa is not blighted, Hill said, but business owners and residents want to make sure it never gets that way.

“Things have slipped. The infrastructure needs to be improved, and we have a high count of T-shirt shops and tattoo parlors and some less-than-honorable drinking establishments,” he said.

One of the main elements of the plan they hope will turn the peninsula around is creating better access to Newport Harbor.

Hill said that because few docks can be used by the public, private boats have a hard time letting people off to shop or eat. The group also has recommended that the city consider reviving a water taxi program that shuttled people around the harbor in years past.

The council will review the proposals at a special meeting at the Newport Beach Public Library, 1000 Avocado Ave., Monday at 4 p.m. Information: (714) 644-3000.