By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
Our next City Council meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 25. Items of interest are highlighted below. The entire agenda and reports can be viewed here: https://www.newportbeachca.gov/government/data-hub/agendas-minutes.
The regular session begins at 4 p.m. Agenda items include:
- A resolution to establish an ad hoc citizens’ advisory committee to provide input and make recommendations to address residential crime and burglary. The committee would include three community members with backgrounds in public safety or criminal justice. If approved, the committee will be advertised and qualified residents invited to apply.
- Approve a $3.4-million, 10-year agreement with Axon Enterprises for the purchase of body-worn cameras, in-car video systems and tasers for the Police Department, along with related hardware, software and services. Among other improvements, the agreement would expand the use of body-worn cameras departmentwide.
- Reconsideration of a development project amendment for the Tennis Club at Newport Beach. The Tennis Club, located at 1602 E. Coast Highway, is seeking to amend a previously approved development agreement. The Council voted 5-2 on September 27 to continue the item, directing the Planning Commission to consider the inclusion of pickleball courts instead of tennis courts. On October 11, the Council voted 4-3 to reconsider the applicant’s original request. The applicant is seeking to increase the number of tennis courts, hotel rooms, and hotel floor space, and reduce the number of single-family residences, along with a 10-year term extension.
- A resolution that would amend a lease agreement with the Lido House Hotel, 3300 Newport Blvd. The applicant is requesting to add 15,103 square feet to the previously approved 130-room Lido House Hotel to allow the construction of five new rentable cottages, increased storage space, enlarged meeting rooms, a new greenhouse seating room, expansion of three existing hotel rooms, and an enclosed area on the rooftop terrace. The amendment also includes demolition of the former Fire Station No. 2 building to create additional public and private parking spaces.
Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated so please don’t hesitate to ask a question or offer a comment.
Grace K. Leung, City Manager, gleung@newportbeachca.gov.
City Council Meeting Information
The Newport Beach City Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of most months (the exceptions are August and December).
Typically, there is a Study Session that starts at 4 p.m. Study sessions are times for the Council to take a deeper look at a specific issue, or hear a presentation, that might eventually lead to a specific and more formal action. A closed session often follows the Study Session. Closed sessions are typically to address legal, personnel, and other matters where additional confidentiality is important.
The Regular (evening) Session typically starts at 6 p.m., and often has a specific listing of different items ready for formal votes. Items on the “Consent Calendar” are heard all at once, unless a Council member has removed (aka “pulled”) an item from the Consent Calendar for specific discussion and separate vote. If an item on the agenda is recommended to be “continued”, it means that the item won’t be heard nor voted on that evening, but will be pushed forward to another noticed meeting.
Public Comment is welcomed at both the Study Session and the Regular Session. The public can comment on any item on the agenda. If you want to comment on a Consent Calendar item that was not pulled from the Consent Calendar by a Council Member, you will want to do so at the time listed on the agenda – right before the Council votes on the entire Consent Calendar (it’s Roman Numeral XIII on the posted agenda).
If an item is pulled, the Mayor will offer that members of the public can comment as that specific item is heard separately. Additionally, there is a specific section of Public Comment for items not on the agenda, but on a subject of some relationship to the city government.
If you cannot attend a meeting and/or want to communicate with the City Council directly, this e-mail gets to all of them: citycouncil@newportbeachca.gov. The City Manager also gets a copy of the email, because in almost all cases it’s something that the City Manager follows-up on.
The Council meets in the Council Chambers at 100 Civic Center Drive, off of Avocado between San Miguel and East Coast Highway. There is plenty of parking in the parking structure. You are always welcome to attend in person, but you can also watch on TV, Spectrum channel 30 and Cox channel 852 or stream it on your computer.
This Insider’s Guide is not an attempt to summarize every item on the Agenda – just the ones that seem of specific interest to the City Manager. You are encouraged to read the full agenda if you wish.
