Some neighborhoods will get priority

Certain Newport Beach neighborhoods will be given priority over others for city funding and attention when the Neighborhood Revitalization Committee meets at 4 p.m. Thursday.

Mariner’s Mile, Balboa Village, the western entry to Corona del Mar, Santa Ana Heights and parts of West Newport will all compete for infrastructure, beautification or economic development services. At the committee’s last meeting it discussed which areas should be addressed.

Balboa Village, for instance, needs “a new strategy to improve the image,” according to a city staff report, because “some private commercial properties [are] in poor condition and underperforming.”

The proposed fixes for the areas might range from street median improvements to a “retail attraction strategy,” the report says. The projects are expected to cost up to $400,000 each.

City staff members have recommended that the current City Hall site and Lido Marina Village be the first project the city tackles, followed by Corona del Mar’s entry and Balboa Village. A Pavilions market is expected to vacate Via Lido Plaza this summer, placing pressure on the Fritz Duda Co., the plaza’s owner, to revitalize the Lido Marina Village area.

The Neighborhood Revitalization Committee consists of Mayor Mike Henn, Councilman Ed Selich and Councilman Rush Hill. While the committee’s monthly meetings will be announced beforehand, the three councilmen have the ability to meet without notifying the public and could involve local stakeholders in those closed-door meetings.

The meeting will be at 4 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, at 3300 Newport Blvd.