The ending site?

“For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken we shall be made a story and a by-word throughout the world.” — John Winthrop, 1630

Catalina Island sits on the edge of the horizon, and San Clemente is just visible to the south on a clear day from atop Newport Beach’s most hotly contested piece of real estate.

Residents will head to the polls Tuesday to vote on Measure B, which would amend the city charter to require Newport to build its next city hall on this 12.8-acre parcel of city-owned land covered with brush and weeds.

Opponents of the measure say the site should be preserved as a park. Supporters say a park can coexist on the site with a new city hall and that the land would be the cheapest to build on because the city owns the property.

The battle over the site has already prompted a lawsuit and a heated political battle funded mostly by one retired businessman who has pumped more than $600,000 into City Hall in the Park’s coffers.

Standing atop of the ridge overlooking MacArthur Boulevard, leader of pro-Measure B camp Bill Ficker has a vision of a gleaming new city hall upon a hill, surrounded by walking trails, rose bushes and a sculpture garden. The structure wouldn’t block the view of Catalina or San Clemente so often touted by the measure’s opponents, because the building would sit below the highest part of the site, which could be preserved for a park, he said.

The group Newporters Vote No on B disagrees with that claim.

“We think the view of this site needs to be preserved for a park,” said Karen Tringali, an organizer for Vote No on B.

The residential neighborhood overlooking the contested site is dotted with No on B signs visible from the top of the bluff. The residents aren’t big fans of Measure B because they fear a city hall on the site would block their panoramic view, which isn’t true said City Hall in the Park supporter Ron Hendrickson.

“They have been given a lot of misinformation,” Hendrickson said. “They talk a lot about the office building they wouldn’t want here, but it’s not another office building, it’s city hall. There’s a view plane ordinance here that hasn’t been violated in 32 years, I don’t know why we would violate it now.”

A city hall could peacefully coexist with trails for people to jog or walk their dogs, Ficker said.

“These areas would stay just the way they are,” he said. “We don’t want to touch anything on the top of this bluff.”

When Tringali stands at the top of the bluff, she see’s the area very differently from Ficker.

“There could be a gazebo here for contemplation and weddings or just to take in the view,” she said.

The area would require expensive grading to make it a suitable place to build, the group claims, and a city hall on the land would create traffic problems on the already bustling Newport Center intersections.

“When you use this site as anything other than a park, you lose a lot of the public’s benefit,” Stevens said.

The group says Measure B would be a blank check for the city to build on the property no matter what and that it doesn’t require the city to build a park along side a new city hall.

“Measure B doesn’t say there has to be a park on this site. It’s too much to approve. We think the planning needs to be upfront,” said Debbie Stevens, and environmental consultant and Newporters Vote No on B committee member.

15,000 SIGNATURES AND A LAWSUIT

The political campaign began last year with a signature drive by the group City Hall in the Park to get the issue on the ballot after Newport Beach City Council voted down the proposal. Ficker collected more than 15,000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot, representing nearly a quarter of the city’s registered vote.

Newport Beach activist Allan Beek filed a lawsuit in November alleging the ballot measure is illegal because it leaves the city hall issue up to voters. The suit claims only the City Council has the power to make a decision.

An Orange County District Court judge in December ruled against Beek’s temporary restraining order that would have prevented the measure from appearing on Tuesday’s ballot. But the judge will hear arguments in the lawsuit if voters approve the measure.

BIG MONEY HEATS UP BATTLE

Retired Newport Beach businessman Jack Croul has made the battle over city hall more interesting by dumping more than $600,000 into the City Hall in the Park campaign.

Croul gave the group $150,000 in the past week alone, which is almost as much as Newporters Vote No on B have raised for its entire campaign.

No on B members say City Hall in the Park’s big money gives the group an unfair advantage. Croul has not commented publicly on his donations, but No on B members say they question his motives.

“It’s checkbook politics,” Tringali said.

Critics of the City Hall in the Park campaign have speculated Croul could be interested in purchasing and developing the old city hall site on Balboa Peninsula if Measure B passes, which simply isn’t true, Hendrickson said.

“Jack has never developed a thing in his life,” he said.

Ficker said Croul has funded the campaign because he believes in the cause.

“It bothers me that people can criticize his philanthropy that way,” Ficker said.

PROS AND CONS OF MEASURE B

FOR

 The 12.8 parcel of land is centrally located in Newport Center.

 The city already owns the site. The city also has an option to buy another parcel of land in Newport Center from the Irvine Co., but it would cost almost $8 million.

 A new city hall on the site could provide additional parking for Newport Beach Central Library.

 Supporters say there is room on the site for a park and new city hall.

More info: cityhallinthepark.com

AGAINST

 If the charter amendment is approved, then only a future vote of the people can reverse it.

 The amendment would require building next to the central library, regardless of the cost or potential environmental and traffic impacts.

 The proposed site would require grading, the cost of which is unknown.

 City officials once promised the site as a park. Opponents claim a city hall would use too much land on the site.

More info: newportersvotenoonb.com

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.