The local coastal plan process used by...
The local coastal plan process used by the city of Newport Beach
could have been greatly improved, and this may have sped up the
process. The city agreed to a timetable for the plan because it
needed a special law sponsored by then-state Sen. Ross Johnson that
allowed Newport Coast to be annexed by Newport Beach but still stay
under Orange County rules so it could keep the land-use plan that
covered Newport Coast prior to annexation. The city unfortunately had
missed its obligations to the Coastal Commission prior to the
annexation and needed this special law.
Newport Beach has had a very good process for Vision 2025 and the
update of the general plan, but the local coastal plan was excluded
from that process although it has many parallel issues, including
land use and completing the bicycle trail along the beach from 36th
Street to the Santa Ana River, which is part of the California
Coastal Trail. Meetings related to the plan were held with too-short
notice and minutes were not kept for these public meetings. It was
very difficult for the public to be informed or to be part of the
process. It was very easy for the public to be involved with the
process for the general-plan update.
The Coastal Commission has been very open to public input and the
staff of the Coastal Commission has also been very helpful. The
Newport Beach manager, Patrick Alford, has also been very helpful on
any issues related to the plan when asked. It would have been helpful
to the public if the city would have made the coastal-plan process
part of the Vision 2025 and general-plan update process and shared
the volumes of public information gathered with both projects.
Opening the Vision 2025 and general plan update process to the
coastal plan may have saved time and created a more unified result.
The plan is a very important document. We should take the Coastal
Commission staff recommendations seriously and not rush to a
stand-off. In the end, the coastal plan and the general-plan update
will have to be reconciled anyhow.
EVERETTE PHILLIPS
Newport Beach
Thank you for covering the local coastal plan hearing scheduled
for today in San Diego. The question posed should be: What do you
think of the city of Newport Beach’s proposal for coastal bluff and
wetlands definition compared to the Coastal Commission’s proposal?
Or: Do you think the local coastal plan provides adequate protection
for coastal resources in Newport Beach?
This is the appropriate question, for two reasons:
* It goes to the heart of the issues addressed in the coastal
plan, that is where the Coastal Commission has requested extensive
changes to the city’s plan to increase coastal bluff and wetlands
protection.
* The delay of the plan was caused by factors on both sides, in
part by Newport Beach’s refusal to accept some of the draft changes
from the Coastal Commission staff, requiring multiple revisions, as
well as the maternity leave of a key commission staff member.
LAURA CURRAN
Newport Beach
Wetlands Action Network and the Sierra Club have many members and
supporters in Newport Beach. These residents live in the region
because they love the natural landscapes and ecosystems of the
Newport region, including Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve. There
are other natural landscapes and ecological functions in Newport
Beach that must be protected, both for the ecology itself, as well as
to insure property values remain high.
As we learned by watching the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in
New Orleans, coastal wetlands not only provide habitat and clean
water functions, but they also protect adjacent coastal properties
from storm surges.
The more coastal wetlands we allow to be destroyed, the more at
risk we put low-lying homes and businesses from future storm surges.
As for the definition of a wetland, as defined by state law, it is
very clear. There are three different characteristics that inform us
if a wetland exists, and any one of these three is sufficient
according to well-established law. Soil, presence of water at or near
the surface and vegetation. For all three of these characteristics,
there are established standards and scientifically determined
methodology for their determination. The city of Newport Beach, in an
effort to help developers, wants to change that definition.
Thankfully, the Coastal Commission staff does not agree. I hope
the commission will likewise see through the plan that would
undermine protection of the beautiful place Newport Beach is and the
important functions that protect resources important to both
residents of Newport Beach and all Californians.
MARCIA HANSCOM
Executive Director
Wetlands Action Network
Playa del Ray
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