Landscape and street work on Newport’s Irvine Avenue hits roadblock

Proposed landscape and street improvements along Irvine Avenue adjacent to Upper Newport Bay could take longer than originally planned.

Newport Beach public works staff was sent back to the drawing board this month after the City Council voted 4-3 during its June 14 meeting to reject part of a roughly $1.7-million bid to complete the work.

The move means staff likely will have to offer the project for bid again, which could take several months, according to city officials.

Staff had proposed entering a contract with All American Asphalt for work on Irvine Avenue between Santiago and University drives. The project would reconstruct sidewalks, curbs and gutters, access ramps and pavement, as well as fix the irrigation and plant new drought-tolerant landscaping on the median. The grass along that stretch of road is currently dead or brown.

Councilman Scott Peotter suggested the city scrap the landscaping portion, estimated to cost about $500,000, and instead put down wood chips or hydroseed grass.

“This is not a signature element to the city,” he said. “Let’s spend the money somewhere else.”

Mayor Diane Dixon and council members Tony Petros and Keith Curry voted to accept the bid. Peotter and council members Kevin Muldoon, Marshall “Duffy” Duffield and Ed Selich voted against it.

Petros took issue with Peotter’s proposal to go with lower-cost landscaping. He likened staff’s plan to improvements recently made along Dover Drive.

“If the concern is water conservation, the water consumption will be diminished drastically,” Petros said of staff’s proposal. “If you want to make something just hideously ugly, let’s just put some wood chips down on one of the most beautiful ... spots in the city.”