Affordable housing does not belong on the Back Bay

I heard from a good authority that the city of Newport Beach has

plans to approve the construction of an affordable housing project,

some 150 units, in the lower part of the currently open space bound

by East Coast Highway, Jamboree and Back Bay Drive. This is a bad

idea.

First, inland open space, particularly with a view, is sparse in

Newport Beach. Here is a chance to preserve a small open parcel that

is on par with the Castaways site.

Second, the space in question is an integral part of our Upper

Newport Bay estuarine system. It includes estuarine bluffs and a

stream embayment, features that elsewhere are included in the

ecological reserve. This plot should be preserved as open space and

added to the reserve. It should not be coated with concrete, houses

and cars in the manner that typifies most of our city. Third, the

housing project will greatly exacerbate the traffic snarl that

already exists on lower Jamboree.

I understand that, in this plan, the upper part of this open

space, which borders East Coast Highway, is to become a park. The

park is to be made “pretty” so that drivers on East Coast Highway

will gain aesthetic pleasures while speeding by. Whereas I commend

our leaders for avoiding the principle of “concrete first” on this

upper level of the open space, a restoration of the natural

environment rather than a prettified park is far preferable. I

suggest that coastal chaparral, access by trails from Back Bay Drive

and benches for those who want to take in the view of Upper Bay

should be adopted.

There will be a political question raised in City Hall: Where

shall we place the affordable housing required of the city by higher

authority if not at Back Bay? How about a couple of high rises

adjacent to those already existing at Fashion Island?

ROBERT SPEED

Newport Beach