By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
The next City Council meeting is Tuesday, March 26. Items of interest are highlighted below. The entire agenda and reports can be viewed here: https://newportbeachca.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/73676/72.
The regular meeting will begin at 5 p.m. Agenda items include:
- Notice of completion for the following underground utility projects: Underground Utility Assessment District No. 111, Underground Utilities District No. 22 Phase 2 and 3, & Utility Undergrounding for McFadden Alleys and Court Street. These projects replaced existing overhead utilities with new underground systems. The Council action would finish the contract and reconcile revenue and expenditures for additional work requested by Verizon and Crown Castle.
- A budget amendment to allocate additional funds for the comprehensive General Plan update. Staff is requesting an additional $750,000. The City initiated a comprehensive review and update of the General Plan in 2019. The initial focus was on the Housing and Circulation elements, which were both adopted in 2022. City staff is working with a consultant, Dudek, Inc., on the comprehensive review and update for the remainder of the General Plan, which is expected to be completed in late 2025.
- Authorization of the 2023 annual General Plan and Housing Element progress report. The State of California mandates that the City prepare and submit an annual report on the status of its General Plan and progress on implementation. The City’s Planning Commission reviewed the progress report at its March 7 meeting. The Council’s authorization would direct staff to submit the report.
- A public hearing and consideration of an ordinance to terminate two non-exclusive commercial solid waste franchise agreements for compliance failures. On March 8, the City issued Haul-Away Rubbish Service Co. and Key Disposal & Recycling, Inc. with notices of intent to terminate their franchises. The City utilizes a non-exclusive commercial franchise waste hauling system for the collection of waste, recyclables and construction debris. There are 22 commercial waste haulers authorized to operate within Newport Beach under a 2020 franchise agreement. The firms are subject to ongoing compliance reviews by City staff.
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.
