Marinapark musings

Here we go again. Marinapark is another example of our heavily

stacked pro-development City Council ignoring the desire of the

residents of Newport Beach to maintain this special area of the

peninsula free of hotels and more traffic. Two key legal issues are

also at stake here:

A. Previously, the residents of the Marinapark mobile home park

agreed to leaving if the city turned the waterfront property into a

public park. I said public park, not private hotel. Nice try,

council, but a hotel is forbidden based on the original agreement.

B. If the City Council so badly wants to put a hotel there, they

must put it out to bid. Why do they continue to pander to just one

bidder -- developer Stephen Sunderland? That’s what we the public

whom they represent would like to know.

The right thing to do today is to extend the lease for the

Marinapark residents another year and listen to what Balboa Peninsula

and Newport Beach residents have to say about it. I am one resident

who grew up here that does not want to see our city covered with

concrete and traffic jams. And I know I am not alone.

TOM BILLINGS

Newport Beach

I am opposed to the Marinapark development plans and would veto

the idea if given the vote.

I do not understand why the city of Newport Beach feels compelled

to turn over what little city-owned land it still has for more

long-term private development. We already have one Balboa Bay Club,

do we really need another? The Balboa Bay Club has just undergone a

gigantic expansion. This should provide Newport Beach with the

high-cost luxury hotel rooms the area requires.

The population of Orange County continues to grow at a rapid rate,

and there will be an increasing need for public access to Newport

Harbor in the years to come. The results of the new general plan

focus groups indicate the residents of Newport Beach want to

emphasize beach recreational and boating uses of Newport Harbor. I do

not hear a call for another luxury hotel development that will block

access to the water.

My vote for this site and what I believe is a benefit for the

largest number of residents is that of a park with boating and beach

recreational facilities, the original intent I believe. A luxury

hotel at the Marinapark will only benefit the developer and a small

number of guests.

The jobs created at the Marinapark hotel will primarily be

low-minimum-wage housekeeping and grounds maintenance positions,

which will be held by people who live outside of the area. These jobs

will require workers who will have to commute to work from distant

housing areas and will not provide employment for local residents.

Repeatedly during the past year or so, the city of Newport Beach

has indicated it needs more low-cost housing. The Marinapark area now

has low-cost housing on it. It seems to me that the city is set to

get rid of the very thing it profess to want more of, low-cost

housing. Will not the demand for low-cost housing in Newport Beach

only increase with the closing of the Marinapark trailer park?

By the time infrastructure improvements and city services are

upgraded to support the new Marinapark hotel, I bet the long-term

benefits to the city and the community are far less than what is

being represented by the current proposals.

The whole Marinapark proposal makes no sense to me except a few

stand to benefit greatly at the expense of the many. The few

individuals who are fighting hard for their hotel are doing so

because they stand to personally benefit, while the rest of us who

have less directly at stake are at a disadvantage because we will not

be able to lobby so hard for our positions.

Since I am a resident of Corona Del Mar, I would probably not use

the Marinapark beach facilities very often, but it would make me feel

good to know this area is nearby and available for use by the public

as a whole.

LES WILEY

Corona Del Mar

I think the changes are fabulous. I have been in support of the

Marinapark hotel all along. I think it would be a wonderful boost to

this area in bringing in higher-end clients. I don’t think it would

affect traffic greatly and I don’t think that there’s any downside to

it. I only think that there’s the upside potential and we need

something like this on Balboa Peninsula.

ROBIN CHESNIE

Balboa Peninsula

We are against the Marinapark development.

KAREN VOIGT

Costa Mesa

I think a hotel, particularly the plans of Stephen Sutherland’s

hotel, would be an excellent addition and provide a little class to

our peninsula.

CAROL DAVIS

Balboa

I am dead set against a Marinapark hotel. I think it’s a very

stupid idea. I don’t like the traffic thought, and it should be a

public thing, not a hotel. I like it more the way it is.

KATHERINE SWIGART

Balboa Peninsula

I drive by that site every single day and I’ve followed these

plans for quite some time, and for me and my wife, we can’t wait for

this new project to open. We think it’s going to be a great for the

community, and I’m sorry that the city has given this developer so

many problems. I’m surprised he just hasn’t gone to another town, but

fortunately he has not. I look forward to getting it built.

JIM THOMPSON

Balboa Peninsula

I’m all for it. ... We need something done on the peninsula.

JACQUELINE MERCER

Newport Beach

I am definitely against that. I’m a peninsula resident for the

past 35 years and I think that we have terrible traffic as it is, and

this would just add to traffic coming on to the peninsula. So, if I

were given a vote, it would definitely be nay.

DIANNE CAPIN

Balboa Peninsula

We feel that this could only be an addition to the area here. It

would certainly make it a lot more attractive spot. We hope it goes

through. It sounds great.

MARTHA HENDERSON

Newport Beach

I do not think Marinapark is a good place for a hotel. The hotel

proposed by Stephen Sutherland is completely inappropriate.

DOROTHY BEEK

Balboa

I think it’s a great idea and I hope it passes.

MALINDA ALLEN

Newport Beach

I love the Marinapark hotel plan. It’s a plus for the city,

surrounding residents and general public. Less traffic, improved

access to public areas and a beautiful new facility for a blighted

area. If this project does not get strong support from the Greenlight

leadership, I will no longer support them.

STEVE LEACH

Newport Beach

I am in favor of the Marinapark hotel project. I welcome the new

Marina Park resort and I think Stephen Sutherland’s proposal is a

great improvement to the area. It’s good to upgrade, and that’s what

we need on the peninsula.

KAY MORTENSON

Balboa Peninsula

We live on the peninsula. We’re concerned about the traffic. We

don’t understand the demographics of the thing and the loss of the

tennis courts that are used by everybody on the peninsula that we

know of. There’s no reason for a hotel there, to my knowledge. We

have very, very strong objections to it.

WILLIAM H. IRWIN

Balboa Peninsula