EDITORIAL

Newport Beach officials on Tuesday lightened up on their stance to

spike the rents of Marinapark residents in the latest lease extension.

The mobile home park residents on Balboa Peninsula convinced city

leaders that such a spike was unfair unless they were to receive a

long-term lease extension.

So, the one-year lease on the table now raises the rents a bit and

provides the 15 full-time and 41 part-time residents with two 1-year

renewal options.

In other words, Marinapark residents should be happy with the

compromise. After all, they live on public property and the city has the

right to do what it wishes with the property.

In the long run, the city would like to see a more public or

visitor-serving use at the site. A park, of course, would suit that

purpose, but it seems more likely a hotel similar to the 147-room luxury

resort proposed by Sutherland Talla Hospitality would fill the space.

But if it turns out that the possibility of the hotel continues to be

postponed or gets tabled for a longer duration, the city needs to either

create another use for the site -- even if it doesn’t bring in revenue --

or renegotiate the lease and raise the rents to market rate.

It’s only fair to the rest of the city’s residents that the

public-owned waterfront site provide them with benefits. And unless the

city knows something from private conversations with other parties, it

needs to develop a backup plan for the site that can become reality in

the short run.