NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL PREVIEW

Here are some items the council will consider tonight.

PLANNING STAFFTo respond to the steady growth of the city planning department’s workload, planning officials are recommending the creation of four new positions in the department. The new jobs and accompanying equipment, as well as more electronic scanning of documents, would cost $189,025 this budget year.

Customers of the planning department complain it takes too long to get plans and designs through the city approval process, and planners’ workloads have increased as people present increasingly complex plans that require intensive review.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The council probably will approve the spending and new positions, as they would help meet a city goal of getting plans through the first round of checks within four weeks.

RUNOFF RULESNewport Beach officials are battling an urban runoff problem that includes at least 25 million gallons a month of water flowing from Buck Gully, Los Trancos Canyon and Muddy Creek in dry weather, and they’re taking a number of approaches. Council members will hear at their study session about a program to encourage homeowners to install “smart” sprinkler systems that respond to weather conditions, as well as a possible new rule that would add runoff problems to the jurisdiction of city code enforcement.

The sprinkler program, which targets Newport Coast, has been in place since late 2005, and city officials have had interest from other parts of Newport. The new ordinance, if approved by the council, likely would be the first of its kind in the state and would allow code enforcement officers to cite homeowners for not fixing runoff problems if they don’t comply with city warnings.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The council won’t take action Tuesday but may have questions about what’s already being done and what’s proposed. The suggested ordinance probably will come to the council for a vote in March.

Compiled by Alicia Robinson

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Newport Beach City Council meeting

WHEN: 7 p.m. today, with a study session at 4 p.m.

WHERE: City Council chambers, City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd.

INFO: (949) 644-3005 or www.city.newport-beach.ca.us