NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL WRAP-UP
Here are some of the decisions coming out of the Newport Beach City
Council meeting on Tuesday.
WHAT HAPPENED:
A development of 22 live-work lofts in Cannery Village won the City
Council’s blessing. The development combines ground-floor commercial
space with upstairs residential space in one unit. The project is set to
be built along both sides of 30th Street, between Villa Way and LaFayette
Avenue. The 22 lofts would be free-standing units of about 3,000 square
feet. Four will sit on the Rhine Channel waterfront.
WHAT IT MEANS:
The Cannery Lofts are now just one step away from final approval. The
Coastal Commission will get the last say on the project. A date for that
hearing has not yet been set.
WHAT THEY SAID:
“We think this project will give a boost to the area,” said Richard
Luehrs, president of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, who spoke in
support of Cannery Lofts project.
Vote: 7/0
WHAT HAPPENED:
Mayor Tod Ridgeway appointed Robert Shelton as chairman of and Phil
Lugar vice chair of the newly created General Plan Advisory Committee.
WHAT IT MEANS:
The decision was postponed from the Feb. 26 City Council meeting
mainly because, after the laborious and contentious process of appointing
all 34 members of the committee, everyone wanted to go home. Though it’s
the mayor’s privilege to appoint the chairman and vice chairman, Ridgeway
gave his colleagues a chance to speak up on the subject. No one protested
Ridgeway’s selection. Shelton and Lugar will lead the group’s monthly
meetings to help guide city officials as they update the general plan.
WHAT THEY SAID:
Ridgeway said of Shelton and Lugar, “Obviously, their goal is to bring
together all the visions that are on the table and to be consensus
builders.”
WHAT HAPPENED:
Council members approved a $115,240 contract with Applied Development
Economics to study the city’s current and future economics.
WHAT IT MEANS:
The goal of the study is to provide information to guide the general
plan update process but, as resident Tom Hyans pointed out, the study is
behind schedule. It’s likely the study won’t be complete until after the
General Plan Advisory Committee has disbanded. Councilman Gary Adams
suggested asking the firm to provide period updates of their findings, in
hopes that the information will help committee members make the best
possible decisions.
WHAT THEY SAID:
“It was my understanding that the economic development data was
supposed to be available early on,” Hyans said. “If you look at the
schedule, you see that ain’t gonna happen.”
Vote: 7/0
WHAT HAPPENED:
A contract for $80,500 with Hunt Design Associates was approved for
the firm to survey the city’s signs. The firm willlook at ways to
redesign signs to create a cohesive look citywide and for specific
communities, ways to reduce sign clutter and areas where more and better
signs would help motorists, pedestrians and businesses.
Vote: 7/0
SOUNDING OFF
“I believe the fight is not over.” -- Russell Niewiarowski, one of a
half dozen residents who urged the council to continue in the courts the
fight for an El Toro airport..
NEXT MEETING
When: March 26, 7 p.m.
Where: City Council Chambers at City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd.
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