OPPOSING VIEWS

AT ISSUE: Local environmentalist Bob Caustin’s letter to the editor (“Not

Buying ‘facts’ about Dunes project,” Dec. 23).

Thank you for publishing Bob Caustin’s letter regarding the proposed

Dunes Hotel and the traffic it would create.

I have reviewed the environmental impact report and found that it

prognosticated the traffic generated by the 41,000-square-foot conference

center by projecting a usage level of only one person for every 52 square

feet of conference space. According to Newport Beach’s own Planning

Department, the fire code allows a usage of one person for every 7 square

feet, and a conservative usage rate would be one person for every 15

square feet.

So instead of the 771 people using the conference center as the report

projects, up to 5,857 people per event could legally fill the center,

with a conservative estimate of 2,733 attendees per event.

The report further lowers the projected traffic impact by assuming that

there would be at least two people in each car for conference center

events, thus anticipating that only 386 cars would carry those 771 folks

to the Dunes. So instead of admitting that up to 5,857 cars could add to

the gridlock at Bayside and East Coast Highway, the report assumes just a

fraction of that number.

To a layman, this appears to be incompetence. Our Planning Department

ought to be screaming foul. Instead, the Newport Beach Planning

Department has earnestly assured us that these numbers are accurate. Once

this project is built, a “mea culpa” will go nowhere.

The city of Newport Beach should turn this project down cold. We have all

the traffic we can handle right now.

PAM M. WEAVER

Newport Beach

I am writing in support of the proposed Newport Dunes Resort Hotel.

I have had the opportunity to review the plans and concept for this $100

million project, and I believe it will be a significant new addition to

the accommodations available to visitors to the Newport Beach area.

However, the thing that gives me the confidence to unconditionally

endorse this project is the fact that I have had the pleasure and honor

to serve on the California State Tourism Commission with Ann Evans of the

prestigious Evans Hotel Group, which would be the owners and operators of

this new world-class resort property.

Ann Evans is a longtime tourism professional and is highly regarded

within the tourism industry, and the Evans Hotel Group is respected and

admired for the quality, integrity and commitment that they bring to

their hotel properties.

As a Linda Isle resident, I have no concerns regarding the impact of this

project and look forward to seeing it become a reality.

Tourism has always been an integral part of our Newport Beach history and

lifestyle, and the proposed Newport Dunes Resort Hotel will bring an

exciting new 21st-century dimension to Newport Beach.

JACK B. LINDQUIST

Chairman, Lindquist Group Inc.

Irvine