Koll forum won’t be debate

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- The first and only public forum on the proposed Koll

Center expansion apparently won’t be a debate at all. But both sides say

they’ve chosen the most effective way to get the facts out to the voting

public.

Proponents of Measure G, the ballot initiative of the Nov. 20 special

election, shot down a request by the opposition to participate in a

mediated question-and-answer session at the Corona del Mar Residents

Assn. meeting tonight. Instead, a representative of Koll, the developer

seeking to add about 250,000 square feet to its office complex near the

airport, will distribute information directly to association members.

“We don’t think a debate is going to be productive,” said Tim Strader,

president of Koll Center developer Starpointe Ventures. “Getting the

facts out to people is our goal.”

Phil Arst, a member of the Greenlight Committee who has led the fight

against the project, said an open forum would have been the best way to

inform the public.

“Forums are an opportunity to get both sides of the story straight,”

Arst said.

Regardless of how they get their information, voters will have a lot

of facts -- some murky -- to sift through to make an informed decision.

Both sides accuse the other of warping reality to serve their ends.

Arst’s side, which advocates a no vote on Measure G, has cited traffic

studies that suggest the expanded Koll Center, with its proposed 10-story

office building, will add about 1,700 car trips per day.

Strader and some city officials have countered that the car trips

during peak hours will be much lower and will be offset by a $3-million

fee the developer will pay for traffic.

City officials are split on the project. Often, their differences lie

in the details.

City Councilman John Heffernan has argued the city should delay

consideration of certain aspects of the project until after the General

Plan is updated, probably sometime next year.

Councilwoman Norma Glover has asked that the city take a closer look

at whether the project will eventually require the city to build an

overpass at MacArthur Boulevard and Jamboree Road -- the intersection

most directly affected by the Koll Center traffic.

Mayor Gary Adams, who supports the project, has said he believes the

traffic impacts of the project have been exaggerated.

Other bones of contention include the bottom-line tax benefits to the

city. The developer says property taxes from the project will benefit the

city to the tune of about $28,000 annually. Arst argues that this figure,

when adjusted for some expenses the city could incur, is $10,000 at best

and negative $10,000 at worst.

In July, the council voted 4-3 to approve a General Plan amendment to

allow the project (Heffernan and Councilmen Steven Bromberg and Gary

Proctor voting against). A special election is necessary because the

Greenlight Initiative, passed last November, requires voter approval of

all developments large enough to require a General Plan amendment.

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 june.casagrande@latimes.comf7 .

FYI: The Corona del Mar Residents Assn. meeting takes place at 6:30

p.m. today at the Oasis Senior Center, 800 Marguerite Ave.