INSIDE CITY HALL Here are some of...

INSIDE

CITY HALL

Here are some of the items that were discussed at the Newport

Beach City Council meeting Tuesday night.

COUNCIL APPEALS

Council members considered changing in the way they appeal

projects and asked city staff members to present viable options at

the next meeting.

WHAT IT MEANS

Councilman Steve Bromberg said he wanted to avoid flippant appeals

of projects by City Council members, saying there have been far too

many recently. When a council member calls up a project that has

already been approved, it puts the applicant’s plans on hold and

costs them a lot of money, Bromberg said.

Bromberg said he was leaning toward a two-member appeal process,

in which a project can be called up only if two council members have

a problem with it.

City Atty. Bob Burnham said the two-person process might lead to

Brown Act violations if one councilman were to call more than three

members in support of an appeal. The solution would be to request

appeals during a public meeting, but then the time to appeal would be

extended again, costing the applicant more money while waiting.

The City Council will discuss this issue on June 22.

MARINAPARK PROJECT

Council members received a preview presentation of the Marinapark

Resort and Community Plan project designed to help the community

become more familiar with the controversial project before the formal

hearing.

The Marinapark Resort and Community Plan is proposed to be built

on 8.1 acres between 15th and 18th streets on the peninsula.

Senior Planner James Campbell said Tuesday’s preview session was

to help council members understand the proposed project and give them

a better feel for how to run the upcoming meetings regarding the

project’s environmental report.

Council members took public input and voiced some of their own

concerns. The Marinapark Resort would replace the Marinapark Mobile

Home Park, Las Arenas Park, Balboa Community Center, the Neva B.

Thomas Girl Scouts House, four public tennis courts, one-half

basketball court, a playground and a metered parking lot, according

to a staff report.

Developer Stephen Sutherland plans to replace those areas with a

110-room hotel, four new tennis courts, a tot-lot playground and a

new, two-story community center and Girl Scout facility.

WHAT IT MEANS

It was simply informational, and no action was taken.