HomeMy WebLinkAbout00 - Closed Session - CorrespondenceCity Council Closed Session Agenda Item IV. A. & B. 3/23/21
Good day Mr. Mayor and Members of the City Council,
My name is Charles Klobe. On the closed session agenda are two Real
Property negotiations. One can surmise that these residents want to
purchase property from the city for personal gain. Both residents were
prolific donors to various campaigns of current City Council members in
the recent City Council and 2nd District Supervisor elections. At the least
the optics of this negotiation between these City Council members and
these donors at this time is questionable. Residents who have sought
election reform would argue it should be illegal for those Council
Members to vote on something brought forth by a recent donor.
Not long ago residents of the City owned property in Beacon Bay
approached the City arguing that their land rent was too high. Instead of
politicizing this request it was assigned to a citizen subcommittee or Ad
Hoc of the Finance Committee for evaluation. I suspect members of the
City Finance Department also participated. This allowed the request to
be evaluated outside of the political arena and the results were publicly
reported at a subsequent Finance Committee meeting. The resultant
report allowed an informed City Council to publicly act on the request. I
suggest that these two matters be handled in the same manner. Neither
requestor is being philanthropic in their respective request and some
level expertise on the city's behalf should be used to evaluate each
request.
Thank you for your service.
Received After Agenda Printed
March 23, 2021
Closed Session
March 23, 2021
Mayor and Members of the Newport Beach City Council
RE: Lido Fire Station Site Negotiations with 3300 Newport Blvd, Closed Session Item on
3/23/2021 City Council Meeting — Agenda Item IV. A
Dear Mayor and Councilmembers:
We understand that the City of Newport Beach is negotiating with the owners of the Lido House
Hotel to lease the old Lido fire station located on 32"d Street which abuts our property at Via Lido
Plaza (3415 - 3475 Via Lido). We are concerned about several issues involving this property and
its history. While we are not informed relative to the details of the Council proceedings, we are
surprised that an adjoining property owner has not been included. We believe there are several
important considerations that should be vetted in public which include traffic circulation, public
parking access and parking issues relative to the existing hotel. We believe there are several options
that would be beneficial to both properties and the Lido core area.
With the moving of City Hall to Newport Center, we worked with the City to relocate the decades
old existing access to the shopping center from 32nd Street through the City Hall site to a new
access on Via Oporto in order to help the City allow for the development of the Lido House Hotel.
This access from Via Oporto required us to reconfigure our parking lot and required the City to
remove multiple parking spaces on Via Oporto plus made a section of Via Oporto a two-way street
so trucks could get in and out of the shopping center to replace the access we used to enjoy from
32"d Street.
While this was not a perfect solution and did result in the loss of both public and private parking
spaces, it did allow for the limited access to our Via Lido center from 32"d street. During this
period we allowed fire station personnel to park on our lot as an accommodation to their needs and
the lack of parking alternatives. With the relocation of the fire station there are several options
including a public parking component; improved access and circulation from the 32nd Street and
Via Oporto intersection; as well as revisiting the City proposal (made some years ago) to trade
certain portions of the City property in exchange for portions of the Via Lido property to better
align parking and access.
3425 Via Lido • Suite 250 • Newport Beach, CA 92663 • 949.723.7100 • Fax 949.723.1141
Dallas, Texas I Newport Beach, California I Reno, Nevada
www.FritzDuda.com
As you know, we are finishing design work on a multi-million dollar restoration of the iconic Lido
Theater. This will become the centerpiece of the ultimate redevelopment of the Via Lido property
in future years. Those plans will be shared during the general plan review that is currently
underway. This planning has been delayed due to the pandemic but we are now well along in this
major undertaking which will benefit all of the retail and hotel elements in the area.
We would urge the Council, Staff and all interested parties to meet jointly and consider the various
planning options that are now presented; these can mitigate the current challenges as well as afford
longer term benefits for the Lido core area.
We are standing by to contribute in discussions and planning as needed with Staff and we
appreciate in advance your consideration.
Sincerely,
Pa a17
Vice President
Fritz Duda Company
3425 Via Lido • Suite 250 • Newport Beach, CA 92663 • 949.723.7100 • Fax 949.723. l 141
Dallas, Texas j Newport Beach, California I Reno, Nevada
www.FritzDuda.com