City could never satisfy Greenlight on resort

Tod Ridgeway

No one would dispute the premise that voters need adequate and

accurate information about a project if they are to make informed

decisions. However, an Aug. 8 Pilot Community Commentary (“Greenlight

wants fairness and education, not blind votes”) on the Marinapark

resort -- written by Greenlight spokesmen who are opposed to the

project -- was more misleading than informative.

After reading the article, I am more convinced than ever that

Greenlight isn’t really happy about letting the voters decide any

issue and that the city could never generate enough information to

satisfy Greenlight that the voters know everything they need to know.

Remember, one of the authors, Phil Arst, said two years ago that he

was opposed to the Marinapark resort.

As a reminder, Marinapark is a parcel of city-owned, bay-front

property -- portions of which may be tidelands -- that is located on

the Balboa Peninsula between 18th Street and the American Legion

Hall. For the last 50 years, the majority of Marinapark has been used

as a private, mobile home park, and the remainder has been open to

the public in the form of tennis courts and a community center that

serves local residents and the Girl Scouts. Contrary to what you may

have heard, Marinapark has never been a grassy lawn with picnic

tables or a public boat launching facility -- things resort opponents

seem to prefer to a small luxury hotel.

The Marinapark resort plan calls for a small 110-guest-unit resort

(yes, 12 of those units can be fractional ownership or “timeshares”)

of less than 100,000 square feet on five acres. The resort would have

a very small cafe and restaurant-bar and a ballroom smaller than most

Newport Beach homes (3,000 square feet). The resort proponent,

Stephen Sutherland, would be required to rebuild, at no cost to the

city, the community center, the Girl Scout House and the tennis

courts. A new public promenade would be constructed along the bay

front, and public parking would be increased from 21 spaces to 42

spaces. Additionally, funds will be provided for remodeling the

American Legion building.

The fiscal-impact report that analyzed the resort concludes that

the city would receive $2.2 million in revenue in 2010 -- assuming

the resort opens in 2007 -- and annual revenues would increase over

time. This revenue would help correct the current $5-million

difference between tideland expenditures and tideland revenue. The

value of the public improvements is estimated to be $2.75 million.

The Marinapark resort opponents made a number of claims in the

commentary, but their focus was the alleged inadequacy of the

environmental-impact report. The report took 11 months to complete

and its final draft consisted of more than 275 pages. The “Response

to Comments” was over 150 pages. The Planning Commission and the City

Council considered the report at five public meetings. The Planning

Commission’s review was incredibly thorough, and members asked some

very pointed questions about the analysis in the environmental

report. However, after careful and thoughtful consideration, the

Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the City

Council certify the report as in full compliance with the law. The

city retained Chris Taylor, a specialist in environmental law, and

she also concluded the environmental report fully satisfied state

law.

The opponents also allege that the city will incur huge liability,

that we don’t know the terms of the lease and that the city hasn’t

done the necessary due diligence. The city and Sutherland have

discussed lease terms, and I would like to see a lease or term-sheet

presented to the City Council as soon as possible. However, the

city’s negotiating team -- which includes one council member opposed,

one in favor and the best negotiators in the business -- isn’t going

to be rushed into a deal, and they will make sure the city’s

interests are fully protected.

The real question to be answered is, do the residents of Newport

Beach want a luxury resort that will help us pay for police and

municipal services while giving the city a new Girl Scout

House-community center and enhanced public access? Or do the

residents want to use our current revenue to pay for a park that will

generate more traffic, the need for more police and drain city

coffers?

* TOD RIDGEWAY is mayor of Newport Beach.