By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
The next City Council meeting is Tuesday, October 24. Items of interest are highlighted below. The entire agenda and reports can be viewed here: https://newportbeachca.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/71680/72.
A study session will begin at 4 p.m.:
- Potential changes to the Newport Beach Municipal Code and City Council policies. The Council Ad Hoc Municipal Code and Council Policy Review Committee, in consultation with City staff and certain Boards and Commissions, has proposed recommended changes that can be found on the City Council Agenda.
The regular meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. Agenda items include:
- A $1.08-million contract award to Green Giant Landscape, Inc. of La Habra, to construct eight pickleball courts at Newport Ridge Park, a private park in the Newport Coast community. Under a lease agreement between the City and the homeowners association, six courts will be available for general public use, with two reserved for members of the local homeowners association.
- A $3.4-million contract award to Irvine-based T.E. Roberts, Inc. to replace Balboa Island water main pipes and improve the Shorecliff community water system. This project will replace older, deteriorated water mains on Balboa Island, replace a short section of water main on Evening Canyon Road, and build two new water pressure regulating stations in the Shorecliff and Cameo Shores area.
- Year-end budget results and surplus allocation. The Council will receive a report on revenues, expenditures and estimated fund balance for the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2022-23. The City projects a General Fund operating budget surplus of $11.6 million for FY 2022-23, $3.8 million higher than anticipated. Per Council policy, the City’s Finance Committee has recommended that the surplus be allocated to long-term liabilities (50 percent) and infrastructure or neighborhood capital improvements (50 percent).
- Annual review of zoning agreement for Sierra by the Sea. City staff conducts an annual review of the organization’s operations and requirements under the zoning agreement.
- City Arts Commission sculpture exhibition funding. Staff is seeking City Council direction on a request from the Arts Commission for an additional $24,000 in funding for the next phase of the Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park.
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.
