Extra fees may be tacked on to Conexant plans

Noaki Schwartz

NEWPORT BEACH -- Conexant Systems Inc. may be required to fork over

an additional $5.7 million in fees for its proposed expansion as part of

what city officials say is an effort to plan for future development in

the area near John Wayne Airport.

With both Conexant and Koll Center Newport proposing developments near

the airport, the City Council decided to use the opportunity to develop

an agreement for the area’s planning.

As part of the agreement, the city is hoping to fetch $10 per square

foot in developer fees, said City Attorney Bob Burnham. The extra money

would be used to alleviate some of the potential effects the proposals

will have on traffic around the airport, city officials say.

However, Conexant representatives who have been meeting with city

officials for more than two months are still arguing the finer points of

the agreement. With a Planning Commission decision looming Thursday, city

officials are anxious to resolve the issues.

“[Conexant] doesn’t want to pay that fee until the city has a program

in place to charge such a fee for all new developments,” said Deputy City

Manager Sharon Wood. “They don’t want to agree to $10 per square foot to

find out that nobody else is paying it.”

The other sticking point is the funding sought by the city to pay for

fire station improvements. Conexant has agreed to pay only half of the

city’s proposed $500,000.

Conexant spokeswoman Carol Thornton could not be reached for comment.

The project currently going through the Planning Commission is a

556,000-square-foot addition to the Conexant headquarters on Jamboree

Road near the airport. The idea is to create a campus-like atmosphere to

accommodate the influx of new employees the company expects to hire in

the near future.

The project would bring the total allowable building area on the site

to more than 1 million square feet. However, the expansion and increase

in workers is also expected to have an effect on surrounding traffic.

The commission will debate the agreement Thursday. Barring any great

discoveries about the project, commissioners expect to make a final

decision on Conexant at that time.

If Conexant and the city still haven’t come to an agreement by then,

commissioners could do several things: postpone any decision on the

project, deny the project outright or send it to the council with their

recommendation for approval, Wood said.

FYI

WHAT: Newport Beach Planning Commission meeting

WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday

WHERE: Council Chambers, 3300 Newport Blvd.