By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
Our next City Council meeting is Tuesday, July 26. Items of interest are highlighted below. The entire agenda and reports can be viewed here: https://www.newportbeachca.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/68236/72.
- A study session will begin at 4 p.m. Agenda Items include:
- Design changes for residential properties located in the VE Zone, a West Newport flood zone. In March 2019, new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood insurance rate maps took effect throughout Newport Beach. The FEMA maps include the designation of a special flood hazard area (VE Zone) that includes 166 beachfront properties in West Newport between 24th Street and 48th Street. Staff will provide an update to the City Council on potential amendments that will address development standards in the VE Zone.
The regular session begins at 5:30 p.m. Agenda items include:
- Approval of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers related to the Newport Harbor dredging project. The Army Corps is planning to dredge the federal navigation channels in Newport Harbor this fall, and has the necessary federal funding contributions for the project. The City will fund 50% of the costs, up to $10 million, which is included in the current Capital Improvement Program budget. The MOA will formalize the City’s financial commitment to the dredging project.
- A resolution to collect certain sewer and recycling fees through property tax rolls. Approximately 5,300 accounts are sewer and/or recycling only customers that do not receive a City of Newport Beach utility bill. To reduce delinquency rates, staff is recommending that these customers be charged through the property tax billing process as an add-on charge similar to a school bond debt service charge or an annual assessment district levy.
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.
