By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
The next City Council meeting is Tuesday, November 19. Items of interest are highlighted below. The entire agenda and reports can be viewed here: https://www.newportbeachca.gov/government/data-hub/agendas-minutes.
The City Council meeting will begin at 4 p.m. with presentations, followed by a closed session. The regular meeting will begin at 4:30 p.m. after the closed session. Agenda items include:
- Acceptance of a $450,000 wildfire prevention grant from the State Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). The grant funds would be used to reduce fire risk in a portion of the Buck Gully Reserve.
- Approval of a $5.6 million construction contract with Asplundh Construction, of Buena Park, for underground utility assessment district No. 124 (Central Balboa Island, Phase 2). This final phase of construction includes the central area of the assessment district between Grand Canal and Sapphire Avenue and North Bayfront and Park Avenue. The underground placement of utility transmission lines is funded by the property owners through the assessment district.
- An agreement with LAZ Parking Services for the operation of the Balboa Peninsula Trolley and vehicle procurement services. The $3.9 million contract would continue Peninsula trolley operations for seven years and purchase five new trolley vehicles on behalf of the City. The new trolleys would be open-air vehicles reminiscent of Orange County’s historic electric red-car trolleys. The new trolleys are not available in 2025 but would be ready for operation in summer 2026. The 2025 season would continue to operate on summer weekends and holidays with the van shuttle buses that have been in use for the past seven years. A large portion of the contract cost, nearly $3.3 million, would be funded through grants from the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA).
- Discussion of the original City seal from the former City Council Chambers. The Council will provide direction to City staff on where to place, or continue to store, the original wood seal.
- Appointment to fill an unscheduled vacancy on the Civil Service Board. The Council will consider appointing one of two nominees for a Civil Service Board member term ending in June 2027.
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.
