INSIDE CITY HALL Here are some of...

INSIDE CITY HALL

Here are some of the decisions made at the Newport Beach City

Council meeting Tuesday.

NEWPORT TECHNOLOGY CENTER

City Council members reluctantly agreed to allow owners of the

Newport Technology Center to convert some of its usage to office,

saying the change was permitted in existing city rules that should be

reexamined to fit more modern situations.

The Newport Technology Center, the flashy bright building on the

east side of Superior Avenue, asked to lease 47% of its building --

currently designated for research and development -- for offices, in

the hopes it could attract more tenants. Members of the Greenlight

organization, as well as some on the council, questioned whether the

change would create more traffic, more employees and result in a

parking problem.

Carol Hoffman, who represented the owners, said traffic studies

were done on the projected changes and there were no additional

problems compared to the previous designation of research and

development.

Mayor Tod Ridgeway said he was concerned more about the city’s

current codes and how parking, traffic and the number of employees

are determined in proposed projects. Standards for the square footage

and number of parking spaces are based on 1966 formulas, and Ridgeway

argued that times have changed dramatically since then.

The vote was 5-1, with Councilman Gary Adams absent and Councilman

Dick Nichols dissenting.

WHAT WAS SAID

“The rules are the rules,” Councilman John Heffernan said. “They

have been bitten by the [research and development] market that has

turned against them, and I don’t think it is fair -- although I would

like to -- to change the rules on them.”

WHAT IT MEANS

The Newport Technology Center will be able to lease nearly half of

its building for general office use. The Daily Pilot has been in

negotiations to lease space in the complex.

LIDO MARINA SPECIFIC PLAN

The City Council agreed to move forward on developing a detailed

and comprehensive plan that would outline the possible future for the

Lido Marina Village, the City Hall area and a common square.

Officials from JC Partners, the development company interested in

replacing the village with a luxury resort, offered to pay for a

preliminary studies to conceptualize the area around City Hall,

including a “town square,” which many city leaders have expressed an

interest in, and of course, the resort.

Council members balked at seemingly approving a plan for a special

interest, especially one that does not own any of the Lido Village

property -- yet -- but understood that specific plans can be very

useful for planning.

The vote was 6-0, with Adams absent.

WHAT WAS SAID

“Let’s not lose the opportunity to master plan that entire area,”

Councilman Steve Rosansky said. “Why piecemeal it?”

WHAT IT MEANS

JC Partners will pay for various studies and renderings of what

could possibly be done with the Lido Marina Village and adjoining

areas near City Hall. The plans are nonbinding and the City Council

can abandon them at any time during the process.