Marinapark plan hits the streets

June Casagrande

BALBOA PENINSULA -- A luxury resort at Marinapark won’t be up for a

Greenlight vote on the November ballot, developer Stephen Sutherland

says.

Sutherland announced this week that he has abandoned hope of getting

approval for the 147-room Regent Newport Beach Resort in time for the

fall election.

He arrived at the decision after city discussions with environmental

consulting firms revealed that the environmental studies probably can’t

be finished in time, he said. Even if they could, trying to hurry the

approval process could create a negative impression in residents’ minds

-- the last thing he wants to do.

“I’m going to use this extra time to talk with people on the peninsula

and show them why I believe this project can be a wonderful addition to

the neighborhood,” said Sutherland, who emphasizes that he is a 40-year

resident of Newport Beach.

With this goal in mind, Sutherland plans to hit the pavement beginning

today, knocking on doors and talking with people about the project.

“The more people learn about this project, the more they support it,”

he said.

Since the Greenlight Initiative was passed by voters in November 2000,

city law requires that the project must get final approval from voters.

Sutherland had hoped to put the question on a regular election ballot,

because he said that lower turnouts in special elections could hurt his

project’s chances for approval. He said he was disappointed that he won’t

make the deadline to get on that ballot, but he may try to set a special

election to coincide with the presidential primaries in March 2004.

Some residents opposed to the resort worry that it will bring traffic

congestion to the area. Others say it cuts back on public space and

coastal access. Sutherland said he believes traffic studies will show

that the resort won’t add any peak-hour trips. He has also included

public beach access and public open space to the plans.

Winning public approval could be the biggest hurdle the project faces,

but other hurdles have threatened to stop the project even before the

first Planning Commission hearing.

Most notably, city officials have said their support for the project

is contingent on the blessing of American Legion Post 291, which is on

the site. Sutherland had originally planned to build the resort where the

legion hall now stands and build a new facility for legionnaires at the

opposite end of the property. He abandoned that idea last month, betting

that the legionnaires would be more likely to support the project if it

didn’t require them to move.

Legion post representatives have said that, before they take a

position on the resort, they want to secure a long-term lease from the

city.

A committee of city officials is drafting a lease for the

legionnaires, who have been on the site since 1949 without a lease.

“We have had two or three meetings with them, and it looks like we’re

very close to having something to present to them,” committee member and

Councilman Steve Bromberg said, projecting that the document could be

finalized early next week.

Terms of the lease were not disclosed, but throughout the process,

Bromberg has advocated a 50-year lease for the legion hall.