City has a price tag to ponder

It should come as no surprise that the land where Newport Beach’s City Hall now stands is worth a tidy sum of money. But $23 million? Surely that is enough to make the City Council give serious consideration to putting the land up for sale and building a new civic center elsewhere in the city.

That figure, provided this week by Councilman Ed Selich, is the latest ? and arguably greatest ? twist in the nearly yearlong discussion about building a new home for the city’s government.

For many reasons, planning for a new city hall is among the biggest issues in Newport Beach right now. There’s the projected cost, which with interest payments could legitimately pass $100 million. There’s the related debate about city financing, which may end up as a ballot initiative. There are arguments about how big a staff the city needs, and thus how big a new city hall needs to be. And, finally, there is the distrust ? warranted or not ? among some residents concerning the council’s reasoning for building a new city hall.

It is a volatile brew, one that won’t be calmed by this latest news. A serious discussion about moving city hall will bring forth a whole new group in opposition and add a whole new layer to an already convoluted debate. But now, more than ever, there has to be serious talk about where the new city hall should be. Yes, tradition is a powerful reason to keep a new city hall where it always has been. But is it $23 million powerful? Is tradition reason enough to keep city hall in a location that is inconvenient for an increasing number of residents?

These are the questions the council ? in concert with Newport Beach residents ? needs to answer. It should do so as soon as possible after May 1, when the city committee in charge of looking into possible locations for a new city hall finishes its work.

Of course, if the council moves slowly, that $23 million value is bound only to climb.