Arts center set for deciding vote

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- The fate of a controversial proposal to build an arts

and education center on open space in Newport Center may be known in less

than two weeks. The City Council decided Tuesday to vote on the issue at

its March 13 meeting.

After a heated debate among council members that mirrored the highly

polarized emotions of supporters and opponents of the project, most of

the council chose to settle once and for all whether they are willing

even to consider dedicating some open space for the center. Councilmen

John Heffernan and Tod Ridgeway voted against the move.

Council members had been scheduled to decide on a request by the

city’s Arts Commission to accept an anonymous donation for an opinion

poll among residents on the issue. The survey also would have looked at

how much demand for theater space there is in the city, as well as what

potential funding sources exist for the project.

The debate started with Councilman Steve Bromberg, who chairs an ad

hoc committee charged with making a recommendation on the the project to

council members. Bromberg suggested that a vote on the poll be postponed

until March 27 to give council members an opportunity to think about the

survey’s shape.

Then, Councilman Dennis O’Neil said he would not support a center on

the site, adding that the land “should be a passive park forever.”

The comments provoked Arts Commissioner Don Gregory, a leading

supporter of the project and a member of the ad hoc committee, to ask

council members to make up their minds.

“I’m 66 years old, and I would like to know the answer to this before

I die,” he said. “They shoot horses. Would you please shoot us so that we

can stop wasting our time?

“If it’s not to be on that land -- tell us. Perhaps we can look for

something else that would be more acceptable to all the people who

protest this. . . . Is it meant to happen, or are we beating a dead

horse?”

Gregory’s comments seemed to catch Bromberg off guard.

“I said that it was my intent to bring this issue to a head,” Bromberg

said, adding that he was “a little more than surprised” by Gregory’s

remarks.

“Had you not asked to do a [survey], I can guarantee you we would have

dealt with the issue” of whether to leave the land as open space, he

added.

Councilwoman Norma Glover expressed her willingness to settle the

issue at Tuesday’s meeting.

“Can we make a motion to keep [the land] as open space?” she asked

City Atty. Bob Burnham. “I’m willing to do that.”

But Burnham informed council members that residents had to be notified

of such a decision ahead of time, and Heffernan and Ridgeway proceeded to

reject Bromberg’s idea to vote on the center at the next meeting.

“We don’t have enough information to bring this to a head,” Heffernan

said, turning to Gregory. “We could kill this project in two weeks

without you having a chance to explain it.”

With project opponents -- ranging from nearby homeowners to

environmentalists to members of the city’s parks, beaches and recreation

commission -- urging council members to deny the request for a survey and

the project in general, O’Neil said the city’s residents had made up

their mind.

“I do believe a message has been sent from the community,” he said,

adding that he’d supported development of the land for an arts center or

senior housing in the past.

“I’ve got the message,” he said. “I think we need to tell [Gregory].

I’m prepared to tell him.”

But Ridgeway countered that only a small group of residents had voiced

their views.

“I feel that we’re rushing to make an uninformed decision,” he said.

“We are short-circuiting the citizens of Newport Beach by actions we are

taking, and I’m not sure what these actions are driven by. We’re

succumbing to a small minority.”

But Ridgeway’s attempt to revert to the original plan of delaying a

decision on the survey until the end of March failed to get support from

even one other council member, foreclosing a vote by all council members

on his motion.