Greenlight says it’s not against Balboa Theater

June Casagrande

While Greenlight leaders are worried that the city’s process for

approving the Balboa Theater could set a precedent for bypassing

controlled-growth laws for future theater projects, they say their

concern does not equal opposition to the theater.

“We support the Balboa Theater,” Greenlight spokesman Phil Arst

said. “We just worry that the city is using it as a pawn to allow

them to avoid Greenlight laws in the future.”

City leaders deny the charge, saying that a general plan amendment

passed by the council last year was the best way to allow the project

to move ahead.

In December, the City Council voted to change the general plan to

allow the Balboa Performing Arts Theater Foundation to proceed with

its plans to convert the empty theater into a new venue for theater,

music, dance and film. They amended the general plan by writing that

a theater with as many as 350 seats would be allowed at the site.

Greenlight leaders took umbrage not with the ends, but with the

means.

They worry that the city’s decision not to quantify theater

approvals in terms of square feet could give the city the ability to

sidestep the square footage measure in the future. And because square

footage is the main trigger to determine whether many projects go to

a Greenlight vote, Arst said, Greenlight members believe the Balboa

Theater decision could set a bad precedent.

“Obviously, the Balboa Theater was too small to trigger

Greenlight,” Arst said. “But when you look at bigger projects like

the Port Theater, this could set a bad precedent for the city to get

around a Greenlight vote.”

Assistant City Manager Sharon Wood said that a number of theaters

in the city are measured in terms of seats in the city’s general

plan, including theaters in Fashion Island.

“To me, there’s a strong argument for measuring theaters in terms

of seats,” Wood said.

It’s a good way to understand how much traffic a theater will

generate, she said.

Nancy Gardner, chair of the Balboa Performing Arts Theater

Foundation, said that Greenlight’s support coincided with a growing

momentum to open the Balboa Theater.

“We’re getting a lot more people involved. Things are moving along

nicely,” she said.

The group has to raise about $6.5 million to open the new Balboa

Theater. Leaders are now doing fundraising and working on plans that

they will take to the city for approval.

The Balboa Theater is not the sole one in the city awaiting a new

turn in the spotlight.

The art deco Port Theatre in Corona del Mar was purchased in 2001

by entrepreneur Rick Aversano, who plans to renovate the theater and

add a restaurant, a bar and other amenities. Neighbors worry that a

reopened Port Theatre will bring more traffic congestion than the

area can handle.

* 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.