By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
Our next City Council meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 28. Items that may be of interest are highlighted below. The entire agenda, and all reports, can be viewed here: https://newportbeachca.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/64218/72.
Study session at 4 p.m. Agenda items include:
- Council will review and discuss the Library Lecture Hall project. Public Works, the Library Lecture Hall Design Committee, and Library Foundation members will present the current Library Lecture Hall concept plans, an updated project schedule and cost estimates.
Regular session at 6 p.m. Items of note:
On the Consent Calendar:
- A resolution to create the City Council Ad Hoc Redistricting Committee. The committee will be charged with reviewing and adjusting voting district boundaries in alignment with the 2020 U.S Census. The City’s seven Council districts are adjusted every 10 years, following the Census, based on updated population data.
- A resolution to create the City Council Ad Hoc General Plan Update Committee. The committee will provide recommendations to the City Council regarding the City’s General Plan update, including: reviewing legal requirements pertaining to individual General Plan elements; identifying a resident committee along with roles and responsibilities; shaping the initial scope and priorities of the update; and establishing a general schedule.
- A notice of completion for the Via Lido Soud and Nord water main replacement project. The $4.04-million project replaced old, deteriorated cast-iron water main pipes, originally installed in the 1930s, along the outer ring roadway on Lido Isle. The project also included water main replacement for a cast-iron water main located on Via Antibes.
Public Hearings and Current Business:
- Consideration of 28-unit condominium development project proposed at 150 Newport Center Drive. The applicant, Newport Center Anacapa Associates, LLC is proposing to build a four-story structure of 28 residential condominium units and common space amenity areas over a two-level, below-grade parking garage. The site is currently occupied by Newport Beach Car Wash, located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Newport Center Drive and Anacapa Drive, which would be demolished. The Council will consider approval of a General Plan Amendment, Zoning Code Amendment, and Development Agreement for the project.
- A proposed contract agreement with Mind OC to fund its Be Well OC Mobile Crisis Response Team for a one-year initial term. The agreement would help address mental health challenges among the City’s homeless population, as well as residents who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. Mind OC is a local nonprofit organization focused on coordinating services across multiple public and private systems to provide mental health support for the community. Under the program, experienced crisis counselors respond to mental health calls for service to the police non-emergency or 911 call lines. The team addresses the emotional, physical, and social well-being of the patient, alleviating the need for police and EMS involvement. Patients can also be transported to a crisis center, detox center, or shelter as needed. The program’s first-year cost, about $1.2 million, would be offset by the anonymous donation from a Newport Beach resident of $132,000 for a van and set-up costs. The remaining amount would be funded by $717,079 in federal grants and $376,101 from funding currently allocated for homeless shelter operations. Staff is pursuing grants, additional donations, and other cost-sharing opportunities to offset future costs.
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.
