Newport Coast’s community center awaits tests

June Casagrande

Newport Coast’s best hopes for a community center now rest on the

results of environmental tests soon to be conducted on a former

landfill.

The City Council last week agreed to spend about $46,000 to hire a

company to test for hazards at the closed Coyote Canyon Landfill, a

portion of which overlaps the site proposed for a community center:

the northeast corner of Newport Coast Drive and San Joaquin Hills

Road.

“That has been the preferred site for a community center because

it is the logical center of the Newport Coast community,” said Jim

McGee, a resident member of the city’s Newport Coast Advisory

Committee.

The site is between a shopping center, an elementary school, a

park and a tennis court in the approximate middle of a group of

otherwise isolated communities. Residents of the area have told the

city they want to use $7 million of money from the Irvine Ranch Water

District to build the community center. The remaining $18 million

from the water district’s deal with the city is being reimbursed to

homeowners on their tax bills over a 15-year period.

But the preferred site for the community center must first get a

clean bill of health. A portion of the community center site is above

a former landfill, which could hold methane gas or other health

hazards. The city hired Pacific Soils Management Inc. to study the

land for contamination.

If methane or other gases are found, the first step will be to

assess how much it will cost to clean up. Unless the price is

exorbitant, city leaders will probably choose to pay rather than find

another location.

“This really is the functional town center for the Newport Coast

community,” McGee said.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.