Proposed sail on city hall catches concern

Newport Beach residents expressed concerns Wednesday night over an oversized, light-catching sail that is part of the top-rated design for the next Newport Beach City Hall.

The translucent sail, part of an ocean-themed City Hall design from the San Francisco-based architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, would jut above city height restrictions for the area. A city committee formed to evaluate the designs called Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s design “iconic.”

“I think the most iconic thing about this city is its views of the ocean and the bay,” said Debbie Stevens at a City Council meeting Wednesday. Stevens has a home in the Harbor View Hills neighborhood next to the City Hall site. Many Harbor View Hills residents voiced concerns at the meeting that the large sail would compromise their ocean views.

“I think one of the most important things we can do here is respect the view plane ordinance,” Stevens said.

Newport Beach City Council could vote as early as Nov. 25 on a design for the new city hall, park and parking structure.

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson was ranked as the top contender to design the new city building after a national design competition.

A view plane ordinance passed in the ’70s protects ocean and bay views of homes east of MacArthur Boulevard next to the chunk of land in Newport Center reserved for the next city hall.

Planned community guidelines for the area set height limits at 45 feet above the grade of the site. Design guidelines for the City Hall project set by city officials take the view plane ordinance into account, but allow for architectural features, such as the sail, to jut above height limits.

“The spirit of the ordinance was to continuously protect those views. I urge you to stay consistent with that ordinance and the spirit of that ordinance,” Harbor View Hills resident Denise Woltemath told the council. “Be a good neighbor to those citizens next to that new City Hall.”

The City Hall Design Committee has recommended that Bohlin Cywinski Jackson rework its design to make the sail less obtrusive, but some at the City Council meeting Wednesday wondered whether scaling back the translucent, sail boat-themed element would compromise the integrity of the design.

“Is it still iconic if you get rid of the sail because it protrudes into the view plane,” asked Councilwoman Nancy Gardner.

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s 81,000-square-foot, two-story design also features a wave-shaped roof that would clear the view plane. A park included in the design plans would feature wetlands, walking trails and an amphitheater.

The firm estimates its city hall design would cost $36.7 million and a parking structure would cost about $11.2 million.

With park and site work estimated to cost about $12 million, the total price tag for the project would be about $60 million.

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