City marks Nov. 3 for planning meeting

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- Residents interested in the city’s future should mark

Nov. 3 on their calendars. On that day, city officials will put on a

so-called visioning festival, as members of the ad hoc general plan

update committee decided Monday.

The event will kick off a months-long process, during which residents

will get a chance to say how they want the city to look in decades to

come.

Following this get-together, smaller neighborhood workshops are

planned to give folks time to refine their suggestions. A general plan

update advisory committee and a phone survey will also help city

officials figure out what residents want.

At the same time, outside consultants will prepare reports on issues

such as traffic and economics that affect the city. On Monday, members of

the ad hoc committee decided to begin talks with consultants who

expressed interest in preparing a traffic study.

Because only one company responded to the city’s invitation to prepare

the study, two of the six voting members present, including Planning

Commissioner Michael Kranzley, said they wanted to wait a little longer

and try to get other proposals.

But most members, including Planning Commissioner Ed Selich, said they

would rather move things along.

“I think we should just go with these guys,” he said. “They made an

effort to submit a proposal, and we’re just wasting time here.”

City officials will now negotiate with the consultants and bring an

agreement to City Council members.

A similar city invitation to consultants interested in preparing an

economic study produced five applications, which will now be reviewed by

members of several city committees.

Along with the visioning process, these technical studies will

eventually lead to a set of City Council policies that will serve as the

basis for the general plan update, said Assistant City Manager Sharon

Wood.

Ad hoc committee members also recommended that council members approve

an agreement with a Los Angeles-based planning consultant. If council

members approve the $33,035 contract, EIP Associates Inc. will assist

city officials during the visioning process. Once that step is completed,

the company is likely to write the general plan update as well.

FYI

The next meeting of the ad hoc general plan update committee will take

place at 3:30 p.m. Aug. 13 in the Friends Meeting Room at the Newport

Beach Central Library, 1000 Avocado Ave.