What’s the most important issue facing the...

What’s the most important issue facing the city?

Any expansion of John Wayne Airport in terms of terminal size,

passenger output and hours of use beyond the current permitted

limits, because any such expansion will have the largest

environmental (quality of life) and economic (property values and

business vitality) impact on the city.

What is your opinion of how the Greenlight law is affecting the

city, and what is your position on plans to build a hotel at

Marinapark?

Greenlight is now part of our City Charter, and it gives the

voters the right to approve major real estate developments, which are

not already permitted under our existing General Plan. That is a

valuable resident right. I voted for Greenlight in 2000. But the flip

side is that same final stage of voter approval may also be causing

certain development and redevelopment not to occur in Newport Beach

because proponents look elsewhere, where such specific citywide

approval is not required.

I am voting No on Measure L. I helped write the ballot arguments

against the proposed land-use change, which would allow the much

discussed Sutherland-backed hotel at Marinapark. I did so because I

consider the Marinapark property too: (a) valuable, because its value

is likely in the $14-million to $20-million range and maybe more if

the property is declared by the state to be uplands, which allows

full commercial development, rather than tidelands, where use is

restricted to marine public uses, and the city’s oversight and

revenue is as trustee for the State, which controls tidelands; and

(b) unique because it is the largest piece of bay front property

controlled by the city, when so many other privately owned bay-front

properties are being sold at very high prices, which will, in turn,

result in likely high-end residential development. Much has changed

since Sutherland was designated more than four years ago by a prior

City Council as the exclusive proponent for Marinapark. Today,

Marinapark requires a thorough and complete reevaluation of what is

the best use of the Marinapark property for the city and our

residents.

Are city leaders doing a good job handling the budget and the

pressures on it from the state?

The city budget, at $178 million for this current 2004-05 fiscal

year, is in fair shape, with no current requirement to spend any

reserves and focused on holding the line on expenses, largely because

of actions by the state of withholding revenue, which the city would

otherwise receive. On the upside, sales tax and property tax revenues

have exceeded budget estimates. The City Council is keenly aware of

keeping the city budget in good shape to achieve the short and

long-term objectives of city government and its residents. Therefore,

potential big ticket items such as new City Hall, will be carefully

scrutinized on a needs/cost-benefit analysis before the city proceeds

with any of them. My experience with the staff of the city Finance

Department is that they are properly fiscally cautious and detailed

in their preparation and oversight of our budget and the related

corresponding collection, safeguarding, investing and expenditure of

city funds.

How should the city handle possible expansion of John Wayne

Airport and St. Andrew’s Church?

As I described, above, the current and future largest and most

costly potential environmental and economic impact to the city is the

expansion of operations at John Wayne Airport. There are many forces

and interests elsewhere in Orange County, the state and the federal

government, which want passenger and freight output to John Wayne to

increase -- which is directly counter to our keen city focus that any

expansion be limited in terms of volume (the current passenger cap

and terminal size limit) and in terms of hours of use (the current

hours of the curfew). Because of those competing interests pushing

expansion, it is unlikely that the city will have sole control over

John Wayne. So, the practical goal of the city should be to get a

veto right on any expansion of the volume and also of hours of use

beyond what is currently allowed. Hopefully, the existing City

Council Spheres Committee can accomplish that objective by the end of

2005 or even sooner.

The impact of the proposed expansion of St. Andrew’s Church is a

balancing act between the laudable objectives of the church, which

will be achieved by expansion of current church facilities versus the

neighborhood impact caused by the construction of those added

improvements and also, long-term, the impacts caused by the larger

number of future users and longer hours of operation likely resulting

from such expansion. The neighborhood impact must be weighed from the

inside out -- those closest to the impact. The benefits must be

weighed more broadly. Do I have an opinion of yes or no to the

expansion at this point? No, because no one yet has precisely defined

the project nor the related neighborhood impacts. But, all of this is

to come before the Planning Commission as soon as next month. I am

looking forward to input and testimony from both the church and the

neighbors on those final project details and impacts, and also to

leadership on this issue from the two city councilmen whose districts

border on the church site, as this project heads toward final

resolution at the City Council.