Best use for Newport Beach parks revisited

Some people still want to build a city hall on a park parcel next to the city’s central library, but it’s definitely not on the agenda today when the Newport Beach parks, beaches and recreation commission revisits how best to use the park.

What is on the slate is a reconsideration of whether the 12-acre parcel, known as Newport Center Park, should be designated for active or passive use. But the process of planning the park is so far along, it may be difficult to make changes.

City Council members directed the commission to take up the park issue again after learning of a possible conflict of interest by parks commissioner Debra Allen. Allen has said she will recuse herself from any new discussions of the park, and former Mayor John Heffernan has asked for a ruling on the potential conflict from the state Fair Political Practices Commission.

Today’s meeting is simply a new discussion, and possibly a new recommendation to the council, on the proposed design for a passive park with walking trails, a few benches and a grassy lawn, and whether it should include a soccer field or other more active space, recreation and senior services director Wes Morgan said.

“I think the council’s point is do it again, you don’t have to repeat yourself — just make sure there’s no potential conflicts and it’s processed correctly,” he said.

Parks commission chairman Bill Garrett said he may suggest more user-friendly elements like additional benches and more turf area, but he thinks the plan should remain for a passive park.

“Frankly, there were some discussions about how many people will actually be using a passive park up there,” Garrett said, particularly because the passive Back Bay View Park is rarely visited.

The park’s estimated cost has grown significantly since 2004 — from $1.1 million to $3.75 million — and an anonymous donor essentially cut in half his pledge, which is now at $600,000. But officials said parks commissioners knew all that in January when they said the city should go ahead with park plans.

“This park has been in the works for seven years now and the design criteria has been worked on,” Garrett said. “I think that a lot of people would like to see it remain as it’s been designed.”

Some City Council members may be expecting a more broad-ranging discussion.

“It may be that people have been stimulated to think differently about that as to whether it should be a completely passive park or a partially active park or a fully active park,” said Councilman Michael Henn, who opposed a city hall at the site.

Mayor Steve Rosansky urged people in February to consider a city hall/park combination at the site, and he said Monday the commission could discuss it also.

“I think when we sent it back to them, we gave them enough latitude to look at any type of use, not just a passive park,” he said. “If that as the case it would just be a rubber stamp and there’d be no point in sending it back there.”