Newport may seek 19th Street Bridge review
Before recommending whether to build or abandon the proposed 19th Street Bridge, the Newport Beach City Council will likely ask the Orange County Transportation Authority to study possible effects on the city’s traffic.
The study and nominations for the Planning and Harbor commissions are on Tuesday’s council agenda.
The 19th Street Bridge would span the Santa Ana River between Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach. Past studies indicate that a bridge could relieve pressure on Newport Boulevard, but a full analysis was twice halted when the Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach councils opposed the bridge.
Newport City Councilwoman Leslie Daigle recently suggested that Newport reexamine the issue; past city leaders have supported a bridge because of its potential traffic relief.
Any chance of building it appears to be dead, though. In the past two months both the Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa councils once again opposed the idea. The Costa Mesa council is even seeking to remove the bridge from the county’s highway master plan.
The bridge needs Newport’s support, as all three cities would have to agree.
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Council to name Planning, Harbor Commission nominees
In other news, the council will choose nominees for open seats on the Planning and Harbor commissions.
According to a staff report, the three nominees for the Planning Commission will likely be Tim Brown, Steven Coyne and Willard Dunlap.
Brown is an English professor at Riverside City College and has volunteered for many Newport Beach city committees and civic organizations since the late 1990s, according to his application.
He completed a university certificate program in land use and environmental planning earlier this year.
Coyne, a longtime real estate developer, served on the city’s Economic Development Committee until it was discontinued last year, according to his application.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering and an MBA in real estate and finance.
Dunlap is the president of a construction firm and was previously vice president of investment properties at the Irvine Co., according to his application.
Chandler Bell, director of marine operations at Hornblower Cruises and Events, and Dave Girling, a Realtor, are under consideration for the Harbor Commission.
It is unclear from Girling’s application what experience he has with the harbor. His application was for the Planning Commission but he also offered to serve on the Harbor Commission.
Twitter: @mreicher