LETTER TO THE EDITOR -- George J. Jeffries

I read the Pilot editorial favoring the Koll project (“Time is right

for Measure G,” Sunday). Let’s see if I’ve got it right.

First, the residents of Newport Beach should vote in favor of an

unplanned project of debatable benefit to the city because it will

provide jobs for the unemployed. However, not mentioned in the editorial:

Under the generous development agreement, Koll has 25 years to build.

There is no provision for it to rent to tenants who hire the unemployed.

The building will likely be built, if at all, after the current economic

downturn is over. It will be rented to tenants who, in most cases, will

come with fully employed staffs. Many of these people will be

nonresidents. They will put 2,500 cars per day at the MacArthur

Boulevard-Jamboree Road intersection and more pressure on an already

inadequate city infrastructure. The Koll financial contribution, when it

is made, will not meaningfully improve this situation. Conexant (500,000

square feet and 3,500 cars per day) is next; then more unplanned

high-density office growth representing the rest of the iceberg; then the

$25-million grade separation at the intersection paid for by, guess who.

Second, the Pilot approves of the project in the airport area, but

would, if a similar project were on Coast Highway, lead the charge

against it. Under the Pilot’s logic, Newport Beach residents, in the city

planned Back Bay-airport area, as close as one-half mile from the

project, are not entitled to an equally protected quality of life.

The real, resident-sponsored Greenlight supports environmentally sound

projects benefiting the city and its residents in good times and bad. A

soft economy does not justify Koll’s unplanned environmentally unsound

project.

The residents should reject it.

The Pilot has generously offered both sides a fair hearing and sided

with business interests over residents’ interests. Fortunately, the

residents get to vote.

GEORGE J. JEFFRIES

Newport Beach