THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:Newport city hall vote in store

Because of the 2000 ballot initiative known as Greenlight, Newport Beach voters may find themselves voting on a city hall site, whether it’s the thrice-rejected park site by the central library or not.

Council members have said no to building city hall on 12 acres reserved for Newport Center Park, but interested parties including retired architect Bill Ficker want to get the issue on the February ballot. The council recently voted to do a formal study of an Orange County Transportation Authority park-and-ride site just down the street from the Avocado Avenue library and park site.

Using either site would require a public vote under the terms of Measure S, also known as Greenlight, Newport Beach Assistant City manager Sharon Wood said last week. More entitlements for retail, hotel and residential developments exist in the Newport Center area, she said, but “there’s no more office entitlement.”

Greenlight requires a vote if a project crosses any of three thresholds for car trips, new homes and total square feet added. That last trigger, anything above 40,000 square feet, is the one a city hall likely would set off.

Citizens who want the park site on the ballot will have to craft their measure carefully if they want to cover the Greenlight requirements. Wood said a ballot initiative would have to specifically say voters agree to amend the city’s general plan to allow the roughly 72,000-square-foot city hall on the park site.

“If he [Ficker] does an initiative that only says ‘should city hall be on this site,’ in my opinion that doesn’t take care of the Greenlight vote — which could mean we could end up with two votes,” Wood said.

GOLF COURSE SUPPORTERS RALLY, HIRE LOBBYIST

How do you save a golf course in Newport Beach? Step 1: Hire political consultant Dave Ellis.

Ellis — who helped elect most of the Newport Beach City Council — will be working with Newport Beach Golf Course operators Steve and Donna Lane in their quest to persuade county officials to extend their lease on the back nine holes of the course. Reports surfaced last week that John Wayne Airport officials were considering other uses for the golf course parcel because the lease ends July 31.

About a dozen golf course supporters showed up to a Monday meeting of Newport’s citizens aviation committee, where airport director Alan Murphy answered few questions about plans for the back nine parcel. The short answer was that there aren’t any plans yet, but options are being considered.

Mention of the airport already raises hackles in Newport, and the potential loss of half a popular golf course isn’t sitting well either. Newport Beach City Councilwoman Leslie Daigle said she’ll propose that the council pass a resolution opposing changes to the golf course, and Ellis said he’ll ask Costa Mesa to take similar action, since some of its residents use the golf course. Petitions in favor of the golf course now have about 1,500 signatures.

The front nine holes are owned by Newport Beach Golf Partners and that lease won’t expire for a number of years. Steve Lane said if he loses the back nine he’ll continue to operate the remainder of the course, but he loses the longer and more challenging holes and something more important — the lake that waters the entire course.

No recommendation for the county parcel has been made to Orange County Supervisors, who have the final say on the property’s use. Murphy said it could take at least a couple of months to analyze the options.

NUCLEAR POWER PLANT BILL KILLED

Next time you get hit with rolling blackouts or a big electric bill, don’t blame Newport Beach Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. The Assembly’s natural resources committee on Monday killed his bill that would have lifted a state restriction on building new nuclear power plants.

Right now, state law says no property can be designated for a nuclear plant until there’s a government-sanctioned disposal site for waste from the plant. DeVore’s bill would have nixed that provision so the planning process for new plants could begin.

Nuclear power will be essential if the state wants to meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gases, DeVore said. Besides, legislators haven’t left themselves many options — last year they voted not to renew contracts with electric suppliers that use coal-generated power, and the state lands commission recently rejected a proposed offshore liquefied natural gas terminal.

“Unfortunately, you can’t power an electrical grid on good intentions,” DeVore said. “I don’t see how you get there from here.”

Without the “nuclear option,” DeVore said he expects the state to become even more dependent on natural gas, which already supplies nearly 40% of California’s power. He also predicts that consumers will see their electric rates rise dramatically over the next decade.

True to form, DeVore isn’t giving up. He said he’ll bring the bill back next session and take it a step further by removing the state’s other restriction on nuclear power. It prohibits plants from reprocessing nuclear fuel.

Also, a consortium of investors in Fresno is considering a ballot initiative to allow a plant in that city, DeVore said, adding, “I would be much inclined to help them.”

MOORLACH THE PROBLEM SOLVER

A “global solution” that gives new ball fields to Costa Mesa, more parking to John Wayne Airport, and lets the Newport Beach Golf Course keep its back nine could be in the offing, if Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach can negotiate it successfully.

Moorlach has been trying to broker a deal between Costa Mesa and Newport Beach to get four unincorporated areas annexed to the cities, and now he’s proposing to solve a few other issues at the same time.

Airport officials say they need more parking and have suggested using the back nine holes of the Newport Beach Golf Course, which are on county land with a lease that expires in three months. The county also owns a parcel near the airport that’s now leased to a self-storage business, and Moorlach is suggesting it could be used for airport rental car parking and possibly also ball fields for Costa Mesa.

That way, the golf course could remain, but the airport would be able to meet its needs. “I’m trying to provide an alternative,” Moorlach said Wednesday.

FEE HIKE (AND A BIG ONE AT THAT)

As Costa Mesa City Council members ponder whether to charge developers a fee for library services, Newport Beach officials are on track to hike the city’s park fees by about $27,000.

Like many cities, Newport Beach requires home builders either to donate park land when they build or pay a fee toward parks instead.

The present fee of $6,894 per residential unit hasn’t gone up in 20 years, so the city recalculated it based on a formula that uses the current value of two existing parks.

The proposed new fee? A big jump to $33,962 per unit.

Developers have asked the council to postpone a decision more than once, but the issue could be headed to a vote next week. As Councilman Ed Selich put it at a meeting last week, “The formula’s set in code. There really isn’t much to argue about.”