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Home My WebLink About00 - Insider's GuideReceived After Agenda Printed March 10 10. 2015 Brown, Leilani Insider's Guide From: Kiff, Dave Sent: Friday, March 06, 2015 5:54 PM Subject: Insider's Guide - City Council meeting of Tuesday, March 10, 2015 A good Friday evening to you. Fire rings, capital projects, and Balboa Peninsula issues are the big issues on this coming Newport Beach City Council agenda. For more, please read on. First, please remember to set your clocks forward on Saturday night — especially if you plan on attending the dedication of the Ben Carlson Lifeguard Headquarters, slated for 12:00 Noon on Sunday, March 8th . You don't want to be an hour late to the festivities. If you're also going to compete in the seasonal guards' swim tryouts and arrive an hour late, the upside is that you'll find less choppy seas and very few competitors. O Anyway, here is the Insider's Guide to the Newport Beach City Council meeting of Tuesday, March 10, 2015. The City Council meeting is held on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of most months, with study session starting this coming Tuesday afternoon at 3,30 p.m; and the regular session at 7:00 p.m. The Council meets in the Council Chambers at 100 Civic Center Drive. There is plenty of parking -you are always welcome to attend! But you can also watch on TV (Channels 3/31) or on your computer. I do not summarize every item on the Agenda —to read the full agenda, click here: http: / /newportbeachca.gov /modules /ShowDocument aspx ?documentid =4414 If you are so inclined, please weigh in on these issues by contacting the entire City Council with one email address — that's CityCouncil @newportbeachca.eov. They appreciate hearing from you, especially about any agenda item. Study Session begins at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, a half -hour earlier than usual. These items may be worth your review: • We'll talk with the City Council about how to create an effective balance between fun, boisterous activity on the Balboa Peninsula and the flip -side of that —where folks might drink a little too much and get a little too rowdy. Mayor pro Tern Dixon has asked that we summarize some of the crime trends we see there, as well as talk about a range of solutions — everything from some additional law enforcement positions to a voluntary network of club operators working on best practices to changes in the code. It should be an interesting and informative discussion. FYI, no one is talking about shutting things down at 11:00 p.m. • The second item sounds mundane — but it's actually really important. We'll talk with the Council and community about just about all of the capital projects lined up for design, construction, or completion in the coming several months and years. This ranges from street reconstruction to a new Community Center on the west side of town to landscaping improvements to the Balboa Theater to the Fibrary in Corona del Mar. We call it an "early look" at the Fiscal Year 15 -16 Capital Improvement Program, and with a largely new Council, it's a chance for the Council to ask more questions and provide direction about what projects they might prioritize versus those they might want to change course on. This item is set up as a joint meeting with the new Finance Committee, and should occur roughly at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the Council Chambers. Please consider joining us in person if you have thoughts or ideas about our construction efforts. But this too will be televised in case you want to watch from home. Evening Session — starts at 7:00 p.m. I'll highlight a few items: • We'll be working with our colleagues in Costa Mesa and Santa Ana on new synchronization of signals along Bristol Street. • More bike lanes may be going in — on Jamboree Road, San Joaquin Hills Road, and Spyglass Hill Road. • Council will be asked whether to fund the proposed fa$ade improvement project for Balboa Village. This would be funded in part by existing parking revenues. It's a small project here at first— about $98,500. This is a recommendation from the Balboa Village Merchants Association and others. • There is a supplemental item ( #18) on the Consent Calendar (don't want to surprise anyone here — but it's fairly routine) that would allow us to enter into a reimbursement agreement with DJM, the folks upgrading Lido Marina Village. We've got an old and creaky water pipe under a street there. They'll build a new water pipe for us (typically a City project), and the City will repay them for the cost of that project. • We'll ask for contract approval of our community's first ever synthetic turf field — out at Bonita Creek Park (this is the park off of University, not the Bonita Canyon Sports Park near the Port Streets). The synthetic turf field allows much greater use than a natural grass turf field, and saves water. This is a $764,000 project. Fear not, there still will be natural grass in the park for those of you whose doggies require it (I can relate). • For those on Balboa Island and Little Balboa Island, you'll know that in 2010 we did a large code update, and inadvertently removed a prohibition on residential condo development and conversions in the R -BI zoning districts. Tuesday's proposed action — a public hearing —would place that restriction back in there after two readings and 30 days. • Designers of a residential project in CdM along Ocean Boulevard (3235 Ocean) have asked for permission to modify what is the front yard and driveway to that home — it's on the coast side of Ocean, and a well -used public walkway goes in front of the property along the public right of way there. The walkway won't go away, but the driveway and aspects of the walkway itself would be modified. • Finally — but actually slated as a special order of business at 7:10 p.m. —the Council will again want to hear residents' thoughts about beach fire ring placement. Mayor pro Tern Dixon had asked that this be placed on an agenda again, and I felt that it made sense to get the input sooner rather than later, as the Coastal Commission hearing looms ever closer — June 2015. 1 know that June sounds like a long way away, but it's not so long in terms of how the Coastal Commission staff prepares items for its Commission's agendas. If you feel strongly about the proposed plans for fire ring placement, please join us in person, or e -mail the City Council at this address — citycouncil (a?newportbeachca.gov. Recall that seven City- initiated alternatives plus two more submitted by residents are on our website here: http:// www .newportbeachca.gov /index.aspx ?page =2479 Some Additional Notes: As this Sunday we're acknowledging the death of lifeguard Ben Carlson, we're also approaching the 20th anniversary of another very sad day in Newport Beach's history— the day when Officer Robert Henry was shot while on duty (March 12, 1995). Officer Henry died about a month later, after being in a coma from gunshot wounds. He would have been 50 years old about now. For those new to town, you might only know Bob Henry because there's a nice park named after him. But he was and is an important reminder of the many public safety and other staff members here who put their lives on the line daily for our community. I can't segue from that, but I was reminded by our staff this week that we've got some pretty advanced information sources available to you on line, helping you answer questions like: "What's going on in my neighborhood ?" The page will show you active building permits, capital improvement projects, and more. The map looks like the below, and can be accessed from this page: http: / /newportbeachca.gov /index.aspx ?page =77 . If you have some time, please navigate through it and let me know what you think — is it helpful? Did you find the information you wanted to find? Do you have any suggestions for us to improve it? Thanks! a As always, thanks for reading. If you have any questions about this Guide, the Council's agenda, or any other City issue, please ask. I always appreciate it if you pass this along to others in town who might get value from it, especially if you represent an HOA or community association. If you would rather not receive this e-mail, please contact me with a return email and I'll take you off the list. Sincerely, Dave Kiff City Manager 949 - 644 -3001 d kiff(a7 newpo rtbea chca.gov 91