By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
The next City Council meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 24. Items of interest are highlighted below. The entire agenda and reports can be viewed here: https://newportbeachca.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/73665/72.
A study session will begin at 4 p.m. Agenda items include:
- Balboa Peninsula Trolley and Future City Trolley Operations. Staff will provide an update on the Balboa Peninsula Trolley and seek input on a potential expansion of local transportation services.
The regular meeting will begin at 4:30 p.m. Agenda items include:
- A memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Laguna Beach County Water District for a new water well. Laguna Beach has purchased vacant property in Fountain Valley as a potential location for a new water well to pump additional groundwater. Newport Beach is proposing a partnership that would help meet current and future water needs for both cities. The proposed MOU outlines intentions and understandings for the project’s early stages.
- A resolution to deny an appeal and uphold a decision by the City’s Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission to remove a special landmark blue gum eucalyptus tree at the Balboa Branch Library and Fire Station No. 1 at 110 E. Balboa Blvd. In March, the commission approved the removal of the eucalyptus tree, which shows evidence of decay and has an expected lifespan of no more than five years. That decision is now being appealed to the Council. The agenda item also requests approval of a permit and zoning exemption to allow demolition of the existing fire station/library building and construction of a new facility.
- Resolutions that would amend portions of the City’s General Plan Housing Element, create housing opportunity zoning districts, and establish objective design standards for multi-unit developments. The Council will consider a narrowly focused amendment to the adopted and certified 6th Cycle Housing Element that would remove language requiring a vote of the electorate. In July, the Council determined that a vote of the electorate was not necessary per City Charter Section 423, because California law mandates the City adopt and implement the Housing Element. The related resolutions would amend the zoning and planning section of the Municipal Code to allow for implementation of the Housing Element and establish multi-unit design standards.
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.
