Choices narrowed

Newport Beach officials won’t be building a new city hall on the site of the Land Rover dealership, or at the Newport Dunes. A committee that’s been working since February has whittled the list of possible locations from about 13 to three or four, city officials said this week. They include a spot at Corporate Plaza in Fashion Island and a lot across from Lincoln Elementary School on San Joaquin Hills Road.

The committee was formed in January after some residents complained that the council hadn’t looked hard enough at alternatives to the City Hall site on the Balboa Peninsula. That’s still one of the options, City Councilman Steve Rosansky said.

The exciting news is that if the city hall is moved and the current site sold, the buyer might not need voter approval to develop it. Rosansky said it could be zoned for housing, and as long as the proposal had fewer than 100 units it wouldn’t need a vote under Measure S, the law known as Greenlight that puts voter controls on large developments.

“I have no doubt that if we did put that property up for sale there would be residential developers falling all over themselves to acquire it,” Rosansky said.

The committee expects to hear at one of its two remaining meetings about the ballpark value of the peninsula site. The council has charged the committee to finish its research by May 1.

TOO BURNED OUT TO TURN OUT

If the turnout in Tuesday’s special 35th District Senate election is as low as predicted, it’s possible that half the ballots already had been cast by Wednesday. According to the Orange County Registrar of Voters’ website, 49,426 ballots ? nearly 10% of the district’s 513,768 voters ? have been received. A total of 144,844 absentee ballots had been mailed by mid-week.

Voters who decide to cast a ballot Tuesday will have three choices: Democrat Larry Caballero and Republicans Diane Harkey and Tom Harman. Each hopes to hold the Senate seat that represents Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, and more than a dozen other Orange County cities.

Political experts expect a turnout similar to the area’s last special election, the race for the 48th District Congressional seat. Less than 23% of voters cast ballots in the October primary for that seat, and more than half voted by absentee ballot.

Even those who wait until election day to vote will get to make their choice on paper: as the registrar’s office this week reminded the media, paper ballots will be used Tuesday because officials are still working on a state-required verification system for electronic voting machines. That system should be in place by June 6.

VOTERS MAY FACE 3 LOCAL CHOICES

And Newport Beach voters still could see not one, not two, but three local initiatives on their November ballot. Residents group Newporters for Responsible Government last week turned in signatures for its ballot measure to require public votes on most city borrowing.

Now another group, Greenlight, is getting closer to collecting the signatures it needs to get another voter-control measure on the ballot. That measure would require a public vote on development proposals of a certain size.

“We are ahead of schedule and expect to qualify in May,” said Greenlight spokesman Phil Arst. The group has collected and double- checked 4,800 signatures, he said.

Newport Beach City Clerk LaVonne Harkless said Greenlight supporters have until May 30 to gather 6,056 signatures of voters registered in the city.

Using a combination of volunteers and paid signature gatherers, Greenlight has gotten a good response, particularly to signs that mention limiting traffic.

“A number of people will walk up and just say ‘Where do I sign,’ ” he said.

City officials hope to get an update of the general plan on the November ballot also.

For information on Greenlight’s ballot proposal and signature drive, call (949) 721-8227 or visit www.newportgreenlight.com.dpt.06-landscape-CPhotoInfoMI1PM79320060406ibkgljkfKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Marina Marrelli, assistant planner for Newport Beach, peruses building plans in her City Hall office. The cramped quarters and overcrowding at Newport Beach City Hall are part of the reason a new hall is being considered.