Disputed site’s fate discussed

Alicia Robinson

The future of Marinapark began Tuesday, though whether it will end up

as a park, a marina or something else is still unclear.

An ad hoc committee including five members of the public and three

Newport Beach city councilmen held its first meeting Tuesday and

started hashing out ideas for what can be done with Marinapark, a

9.8-acre piece of city-owned land that became the center of a

contentious battle when a luxury resort was proposed there. Voters in

November nixed a plan to rezone the property for commercial use.

The Marinapark land is now home to a mobile-home park, a Girl

Scout house, an American Legion post and some public facilities.

Suggestions for the property made by committee members Tuesday

included space to hand-launch boats and small watercraft, facilities

for water-based recreation programs, and a possible location for the

Newport Harbor Nautical Museum. Committee members also suggested

researching Dana Point Harbor, a mix of public and commercial uses,

and Cabrillo marina in Los Angeles as possible models for development

of Marinapark.

Several committee members stressed that making money from the

property should not be a priority.

“I don’t think ... a positive cash flow is needed from this

property,” committee member Grace Dove said. “We already get positive

cash flow from other bayfront properties that have been sacrificed

for that purpose.”

A notable absence on the committee was Tom Billings, who led

Protect Our Parks, a citizens’ group formed to oppose the resort.

Mayor Steve Bromberg offered Billings a spot on the committee, but

Billings declined due to work and personal commitments.

But pro-parks residents will have a voice on the committee.

Besides Bromberg and Councilmen Tod Ridgeway and Don Webb, the

committee includes six members of city commission and five residents.

Among the residents, several have been involved with Protect Our

Parks or have opposed the hotel proposal, Billings said.

Despite their inclusion, however, Billings still thinks people who

support commercial development of Marinapark are disproportionately

represented on the committee.

“It remains to be seen what will come out of that ad hoc

committee, but what should come out is that they uphold the will of

the voters that made it clear on Nov. 2 that they wanted it to remain

as parkland, not commercial development,” Billings said before

Tuesday’s meeting. “We support the process of what the city is trying

to do -- to the extent that they do just that.”

The committee will explore options for the property but will not

make an official recommendation to the City Council, which ultimately

will decide the fate of Marinapark.

In the future, the committee will meet at 4 p.m. on the third

Tuesday of the month in City Council chambers, 3300 Newport Blvd.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.