Preeminent issue may face Newport voters

Limiting the use of eminent domain is all the rage, and Newport Beach voters may find it on their ballots at least twice this year.

The Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday asked the city attorney to draw up a rule that would prevent the city from using eminent domain to forcibly take property and turn it over to private development. Existing law allows governments in some cases to acquire property for public uses, but the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the economic benefits of private development qualified a project as a “public use.”

The council will vote on the rule at a future meeting and could offer it to voters in November as a change to the city charter, which would strengthen the rule.

Orange County Supervisors plan to place a similar measure limiting their authority on the June ballot, and two statewide initiatives on eminent domain are now circulating.

Newport Beach City Councilman Keith Curry proposed the city measure. He said it’s important because the city is working to take over jurisdiction of the Santa Ana Heights Redevelopment Agency. A rule to limit eminent domain will assure property owners and residents in that area that “eminent domain will not be abused by the city of Newport Beach, and it establishes a firm policy in favor of private property rights,” he said.

The council voted, 6-0, to move ahead with the new rule.

In Costa Mesa, officials have not proposed limiting their ability to use eminent domain, but they avoided it in their strategy to encourage new development on the city’s Westside. Costa Mesa did use some eminent domain to take properties in its 2,000-acre downtown redevelopment zone, which includes the nearly vacant Triangle Square mall.

Costa Mesa council members voted April 4 to allow new zoning for homes and businesses on more than 600 acres of the Westside, but development proposals would come from the private sector and will not be driven by the city.

FOCUSING ON THE WORLD AT LARGE

The World Affairs Council of Orange County will host Pierre-Richard Prosper, former U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, at a dinner tonight in Costa Mesa. Prosper will discuss issues in Sudan, Iraq and the U.S. fight against terrorism, and he will talk about how the U.S. has begun to improve the situation in the world.

The event begins with a reception at 6 p.m. followed by dinner and a presentation at 7 p.m. at the Costa Mesa Hilton hotel, 3030 Bristol St. Tickets are $65 for nonmembers of the council. For information, call (949) 253-5751 or visit www.worldaffairscouncil.org.

‘THIS IS WHAT THEY HANDED ME’

Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor may be registered as a Republican, but when it comes to his drink preference, he’s a decline-to-state.

He was spotted at state Senate candidate Diane Harkey’s election night shindig with a glass in hand, but when asked what he was drinking, he was coy.

“I just asked for something, and this is what they handed me,” Mansoor said.

Harkey’s party, at Tentation Ultra Lounge in Newport Beach, featured exotic fruits, cheeses, skewered chicken bites and cocktails in a nightclub with mostly white decor. Guests mingled with big names from the Orange County GOP such as Rep. John Campbell, Orange County Treasurer John Moorlach, and Newport Beach Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. DOUGLAS ZIMMERMAN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Costa Mesa used eminent domain to acquire the land at Triangle Square. The Newport Beach City Council voted to limit how it can use eminent domain.dpt.13-landscape-BPhotoInfo5H1PTJ9C20060413iirt1mkn(LA)