COMMUNITY COMMENTARY:

Last November, after years of public discussion, the voters of this city approved a new General Plan, which allows 450 residential units to be developed in Newport Center.

These units were not requested by The Irvine Co. or any other property owner but were recommended by the citizens’ advisory committee, GPAC, to allow Newport Center to have more diverse uses and reduce traffic. The proposal for residential development in Newport Center will implement the wishes of the electorate who voted for such uses.

The council also included in the new General Plan a provision that a property owner who develops residential units in Newport Center must sign a development agreement. A development agreement is a negotiated agreement whereby the city receives an increased level of public benefit in return for giving a developer certain long-term assurances that the developer may construct its project.

The City Council Development Agreement Negotiating Committee, assistant city manager, city attorney and outside legal counsel for the city (who specializes in drafting development agreements) have negotiated a draft development agreement with The Irvine Co. Currently, the development agreement provides the following benefits to the city:

 A four-year option for the city to acquire an approximately 53,000-square-foot site for a city hall building in the 500 block for $145 a square foot, based upon an appraisal commissioned by the city;

 A four-year option to acquire the right to use between 300 to 375 parking spaces in a parking structure to be constructed in the 500 block on a pro rata cost basis for the number of spaces acquired;

 Payment of $27.09 million to the city with $13.045 million due at the first building permit, the balance spread over the remaining residential building permits. This money can be used for a city hall wherever it is constructed or any other municipal purpose;

 Payment to the city of $11.2 million in park fees. Up to $5.6 million to be paid at the award of a contract for construction of the new Oasis Senior Center on a matching basis to what the community raises for Oasis, with the unmatched balance, if any, available to the city for any park purpose;

 $2.5 million in road improvements in Newport Center above those required by traffic impact fees;

 Dedication to the city of the 3-acre vacant parcel north of San Miguel at Avocado to the city if a new city hall is constructed in Newport Center;

 Payment of traffic impact fees under a new higher fee schedule;

 Provision of affordable housing units to meet state law requirements.

No new entitlement other than what was approved in our recent General Plan or what exists on the ground today is proposed. A team of traffic engineers has carefully reviewed the plan for potential traffic generation and has found the proposed development adds no net new traffic over that allowed by the General Plan.

The draft development agreement will be put into final form only after the important step of receiving public input. That input may well result in revisions to the agreement. The draft development agreement has already been publicly discussed at a joint meeting of the Planning Commission and the City Council and at two meetings of the Planning Commission. It has now been referred to the City Council for at least two more public meetings. At each meeting, the public has been and will be encouraged to comment on any aspect of the development agreement. The draft development agreement and staff report are available on the city’s website at www.city.newport-beach.ca.us.

There has been some criticism that the development agreement does not bring enough public benefit to our city. That’s the standard which the City Council will use to determine if this development agreement is worthy of our approval. As far as we have been able to determine, no city has negotiated a development agreement with this level of public benefit. If anyone reading this knows of one, please make the City Council aware of it.

Finally, it is important to note that this agreement does not bind the city to the 500 block for a city hall. It merely gives the city the option to go there if the City Hall in the Park initiative does not pass.

ED SELICH is a Newport Beach city councilman. STEVE ROSANSKY is the mayor of Newport Beach.