By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
Our next City Council meeting is Tuesday, November 16. Items that may be of interest are highlighted below. The entire agenda, and all reports, can be viewed here: https://www.newportbeachca.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/65313/72?curm=11&cury=2021.
4 p.m.: Study Session. Agenda items include:
- The draft Housing Element update to the City’s General Plan. Staff will present recent changes to the draft update based on comments received in October from the state Department of Housing and Community Development. The City is updating its Housing Element in response to state mandates requiring Newport Beach to plan for the development of more than 4,800 housing units in the next eight years.
- A discussion of fractional home ownership of residential property, where the cost of the property is split between multiple owners. Staff will present information on the growing trend and how it may be interpreted in the City’s Municipal Code.
- An update to the City’s water conservation ordinance. Staff will present an overview of the City’s existing ordinance, Newport Beach Municipal Code Section 14.16, along with updates needed to respond to new state water mandates and the current drought.
6:30 p.m.: Regular Session. Items of note:
Consent Calendar:
A resolution authorizing City staff to apply for grant funds to offset the cost of eight pickleball courts planned for Newport Ridge Park. If approved, the City will apply for $231,236 in grants available through the County’s Proposition 68 Parks and Water Bond Act of 2018. The grants would supplement $1 million allocated for the project in the current Capital Improvement Program budget. The project is a partnership between the City and the Newport Ridge Community Association.
Public Hearings:
A call for review of a recent Planning Commission decision to approve remodeling plans for the Corona del Mar 76 Service Station on 2201 East Coast Highway. On October 7 the Planning Commission approved conditional use permits and a coastal development permit that will allow the property to be converted from an automotive service station and convenience store to a convenience store only. Under the proposal approved by the Planning Commission, the project would expand the existing building’s footprint by 232 square feet and allow beer and wine sales at the location. The City Council has the authority to uphold or override commission decisions.
Current Business:
An ordinance to amend the City’s municipal code to accommodate upcoming state refuse and recycling mandates. Senate Bill 1383, approved in 2016 and set to take effect in 2022, mandates that cities adopt certain recycling practices to reduce the amount of trash sent to landfills and cut greenhouse gases. Requirements of the bill include mandatory traditional recycling (aluminum, plastic, paper, etc.) and organic waste recycling (grass clippings, yard waste, and food scraps). The City and its refuse contractor, CR&R, are preparing to meet the state-mandated goals in 2022. The ordinance before the Council would amend several sections of the Newport Beach municipal code to authorize the state mandates along with operational efficiencies to improve the City’s recycling and trash collection.
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 get’s 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.
