By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
The next City Council meeting is Tuesday, October 8. Items of interest are highlighted below. The entire agenda and reports can be viewed here: https://newportbeachca.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/73664/72?curm=10&cury=2024.
- A study session will begin at 4 p.m. Agenda items include:
- Recommendations on future uses and potential improvements to Lower Castaways Park. Staff will present findings from an ad hoc committee that was convened to study and discuss potential improvements to the City property at 100 Dover Dr.
The regular session will begin at 5:30 p.m. Agenda items include:
- Consideration of an $817,000 contract with Orange-based R.E. Schultz Construction for the construction of ADA accessible playground improvements at San Miguel Park, 2200 San Miguel Dr. The project, to be paid mostly through federal Community Development Block Grants, will add accessible play equipment, an accessible path and parking lot improvements that meet the latest Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines. The playground improvements will include more than 20 components accessible from the ground for all ability levels, along with additional elevated components accessible by transfer platforms.
- A $4.8 million agreement with South Coast Fire Equipment, Inc. for the purchase of four 2028 Pierce Type 1 fire engines. Type 1 engines are used primarily for structural firefighting and initial Emergency Medical Service response. Under Council policy, frontline City fire engines must be replaced every 13 years (with an additional 5-7 years of use in reserve status). Four Type 1 engines currently in the City fleet are due for replacement in 2027.
- A public hearing and consideration of a development agreement amendment related to the Uptown Newport Planned Community at 4311 Jamboree Rd. The developer, Shopoff Realty Investments, is requesting an amendment that would allow excess park in-lieu fee credits to be applied toward applicable public benefit fee obligations.
- A public hearing and resolution to approve updated park in-lieu fees to reflect fair market value. Under the City’s Municipal Code, residential developments of 50 lots or fewer can dedicate parkland as part of the development or pay an in-lieu fee equal to the value of land required, or a combination of the two. The last update to the park in-lieu fee was approved in 2020.
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.
