ON THE AGENDA Here are some items...

ON THE AGENDA

Here are some items to be considered tonight by the Newport Beach

City Council.

PLANNING COMMISSION DECISION

A Balboa Island homeowner whose request to add on to the top of

her home was shot down by the Planning Commission will get a

reconsideration by the council. The issue is the same one that landed

Councilman Dick Nichols in trouble recently after he told Planning

Commissioners that their denial of the request was so wrong that it

looked as if someone had accepted money.

The homeowner had approval to add a 25-square foot elevator shaft

on the roof of her South Bay Front home, but during construction,

workers expanded it to a 127-square-foot addition that included a

bathroom. Planning Commissioners voted unanimously that this did not

warrant a variance, but Nichols believes that it should be permitted

because the end result is much less imposing on neighbors’ views than

the building that the homeowner tore down to build this home.

WHAT TO EXPECT

A good guess might be a 6-1 vote to uphold the Planning

Commission’s decision, with Nichols dissenting.

PARK PATROL PROGRAM

In their study session before the regular meeting, council members

will consider a plan to monitor the use of city parks, to check

permits and to help deal with problems caused by competition for

limited space on city playing fields. The idea is to have uniformed

staff members monitoring the use of the city’s 38 active parks,

fields and other facilities. The $52,000-a-year cost would be paid

for in part by charging $1 an hour for fields to some youth groups

that now use them for free. Representatives of some of these groups

have told the city that they support this plan. The remainder would

be paid for by raising fees for special events permits and for

renting and reserving facilities at city parks.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Because this is only a study session item, no formal action will

be taken tonight. But if council members like the program, they may

ask to have it put on a future council agenda.

PLANNING COMMISSION CALL-UPS

Yet another item pertaining directly to Nichols was carried over

from the last council meeting after that meeting ran too late.

Tonight, council members hope to get time to consider whether they

should change individual council members’ power to revisit Planning

Commission decisions. Right now, a single council member can call up

any Planning Commission decision as a council agenda item, nullifying

the commission’s vote. The commission has similar powers to call up

decisions of the Modifications Committee. Council members tonight

will consider whether to revert to the pre-1997 policy of requiring

two or more council members or planning commissioners to call up such

decisions.

WHAT TO EXPECT

It’s hard to say how much support this idea will garner, but

Nichols is a likely no vote.

-- Compiled by June Casagrande