Residents call for vote on City Hall

Alicia Robinson

As city officials seek public input on whether to build a new city

hall, some residents have formed a new group to demand a public vote

on the project.

Members of Newporters for Responsible Government, which was

created two weeks ago, handed out fliers at Saturday’s community

meeting on possible plans for the City Hall.

The City Council is working with consultant Griffin Structures to

look at preliminary design options for upgrading the existing City

Hall and adjacent fire station, and to gauge public opinions on the

project.

Under the rules of Measure S -- the city’s Greenlight law --

building a new City Hall at the current Newport Boulevard location

wouldn’t require a public vote because that land use isn’t likely to

exceed what’s already allowed by the city’s general plan.

That’s worrisome to the new citizens’ group, which includes

frequent City Council critic Dolores Otting. The group estimates the

city hall/fire station project will cost $40 million to $60 million

and claims this would be “the largest public expenditure in Newport’s

history.”

The actual cost of the project is still unknown because no

detailed designs have been drawn. Some estimates were given at

Saturday’s meeting, but officials agreed they were incomplete.

Three rough plans were shown. Each would preserve some parts of

the existing city hall, while adding new office space. Each included

a new fire station and a parking garage.

Projected costs ranged from a $19.1 million plan for new buildings

and minimal renovations to a $23.6 million proposal to preserve three

of the five existing buildings, including the council chambers. But

those costs don’t include a new fire station, something several

residents said was their top priority, or the added parking.

“The estimate here is only a part, in fact a very small part, of

the cost we’d actually see if this plan is implemented,” Lido Isle

resident Neil MacFarlane said.

While a number of residents seemed suspicious of the cost of a

refurbished City Hall, opinions on the whether the project is needed

are all over the map.

For one contingent of residents, the current City Hall is an

inefficient dinosaur that should be replaced with a facility matching

the caliber of some of the area’s other amenities.

“We spend millions on our homes, millions on our boats, millions

on our cars ... Today we need to buy ourselves a fitting City Hall,”

Corona del Mar resident Wesley Taylor said.

At the other end of the spectrum is Newporters for Responsible

Government. Member Tom Billings, who founded Protect Our Parks in

2004 to fight the Marinapark hotel plan, charged that a new City Hall

is part of a clandestine, overarching plan to redevelop the area,

including Lido Marina Village.

City Manager Homer Bludau said there was one meeting with two

churches and other tenants in the area, but he flatly denied the city

is participating in any master plan.

“It isn’t any part of a grand scheme to give a new look to the

area,” he said.

With a number of questions still unanswered, a public vote on the

City Hall may have some support. Joan Andersen, who lives in

Eastbluff, said she hadn’t really looked closely at the issue before

coming to Saturday’s meeting, but now thinks putting City Hall

construction on the ballot would be a good idea.

“It’s a huge expenditure and a long-term debt burden on the

residents and future residents of the city,” she said.

There will be more opportunity for public input. A meeting similar

to Saturday’s is scheduled for Monday. The City Council will decide

at a May 10 meeting whether to move forward on any of the three City

Hall concepts.

For information on the City Hall project, visit

https://www.city.newport-beach.ca.us and click on “projects.”

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at alicia.robinson@

latimes.com.