The next Newport Beach City Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021. The study session begins at 4 p.m., and includes three items of note:
- Water Conservation Ordinance Update: Staff will present an overview of the City’s existing water conservation ordinance, Newport Beach Municipal Code Section 14.16. An update to the code is needed because of new State requirements and in preparation for likely drought scenarios. Prior to assembling the updated ordinance, staff would like to receive feedback on concepts and principles.
- Discussions Relative to SB 9 and SB 10: With the recent adoption of State Senate Bills 9 and 10, staff will present on how those bills will allow for higher densities specifically in Single-Family (R1) Zones and the overall impact to the City.
- Parking Code Update: Staff will present the results of the first phase of a comprehensive review of the City ’s parking code with recommendations on parking ratio changes to assist businesses.
After the public study session is a closed session meeting. The regular city council meeting starts at 7 p.m. In addition to 23 items on the consent calendar, items of note on the public hearing section:
- Resolution No. 2021-126: Central Library Lecture Hall Building – Approval of Conceptual Design and Associated Memorandum of Understanding with the Newport Beach Public Library Foundation: According to city documents, the City Council will consider a number of actions associated with the design, construction, and operation of a Library Lecture Hall Facility located near the existing Central Library at 1000 Avocado Avenue. The City Council actions may include approving the conceptual design and project cost estimate, directing staff to proceed with preparation of construction documents and obtaining bids for construction, exempting the project from CEQA, and exempting the project from land use and development standards applicable to the library as set forth in the Planned Community “PC 27 Newport Village” Zoning District. Exempting the project from land use and development standards requires a public hearing. The proposed lecture hall would consist of approximately 9,500 square feet of floor area and is anticipated to include seating for up to 299 people. The Project would result in the displacement of approximately 13 public parking spaces within the library parking lot, which will subsequently be replaced near the existing surface parking lot adjacent to the entry to the City Hall parking structure. The provisions of the NBMC (PC-27) which the City Council will consider exempting include the Avocado Avenue setback, parking standards for library facilities, and maximum floor area allowed for the library parcel.
- Ordinance 2021-27: A Code Amendment Related to Tattoo Establishments (PA2020-030). For the City Council’s consideration are the proposed code amendments to Titles 20 (Planning and Zoning) and 21 (Local Coastal Program Implementation Plan) of the Newport Beach Municipal Code (NBMC) updating development standards related to tattoo establishments. The purpose of the code update is to ensure the NBMC is consistent with both state and case law as it pertains to tattoo establishments. If the City Council approves the update, the changes will be forwarded to the California Coastal Commission for its consideration.
- Ordinance No. 2021-28: A Code Amendment Related to Short-Term Lodging Citywide and on Newport Island (PA2020-048 and PA2020-326): For the City Council’s consideration is an ordinance amending Chapter 5.95 (Short Term Lodging Permit) and Title 21 (Local Coastal Program Implementation Plan) of the Newport Beach Municipal Code (NBMC) updating the regulations for short-term lodging applicable to properties citywide to establish a maximum cap of 1,550 permits and a minimum night stay of two consecutive nights. The ordinance would also establish additional short-term lodging regulations applicable to Newport Island that include establishing a maximum of 20 permits, requiring properties with short-term lodging to be owner occupied and owner managed, establishing maximum daytime and overnight occupancy limits, restricting rentals to a maximum of one per week, and establishing minimum parking requirements.
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. (although times may vary), 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 get’s 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.
Read the complete agenda for the Nov. 30 City Council meeting at https://newportbeach.legistar1.com/newportbeach/meetings/2021/11/2834_A_City_Council_21-11-30_Agenda.pdf?id=5a9d2674-3c0a-4954-adbb-b46beb64afd5.
