HomeMy WebLinkAbout00 - Insider's GuideFrom: Kiff, Dave
Sent: Friday, April 08, 2016 3:55 PM
Subject: Insider's Guide for Tuesday, April12, 2016
Happy end-of-the-work-week to you.
Here's what's on the schedule for the Newport Beach City Council meeting of Tuesday, April12, 2016. It's been a full
three weeks since the last Council meeting, but there is a lot going on regardless. Did you miss us?
Two things as I start:
(1) As even an old dog can learn new tricks, I've been trying to add more hyperlinks to this e-mail so that you can
find information better and faster. If something is underlined, it's a hyperlink. If this is a success, next I will
tackle the 95% of things I don't know how to do with my iPhone (embarrassingly, it's still a 4S -like the stone
age! I should hide my face and you should all shun me!) and my car's electronics. ®
(2) Our good Public Works staff puts out something that I've been trying to share with people more and more. It's a
weekly Traffic Advisory that tells you all of the horrific traffic jams® we'll be contributing to in the week ahead,
including more about each project (ie. why we're out there) and whom to contact if you have
questions. Bookmark it, as it is updated every Friday.
There no Study Session scheduled, but there is a Regular Session planned for 7:00p.m. The City Council's meeting
information is at the end of this e-mail, and here is a link to the full Council agenda. I don't summarize every item on
the agenda.
The nighttime Regular Session at 7:00p.m. seems a little light, but has a few items worth ~elling you about:
• Given all ofthe hubbub that the businesses along Mariner's Mile and portions of Newport Boulevard have had to
put up with over the last many months, we're asking the Council's permission to allow a temporary waiver of
"special event" fees if the businesses want to do sidewalk sales and other non-traditional incentives that would
otherwise involve a special event permit. This waiver would apply for a few months. Businesses must still get the
permit, but there will not be fees attached to it (um, as I say that, if someone proposes closing a street and putting a
massive bounce-house on it, um, that might involve a fee-but stuff less than that should not). Please support these
businesses as the warm season approaches and thank them for hanging in there with us.
• An exclusive negotiating agreement ("ENA") is proposed with Lab Holding LLC as a potential buyer of the Balboa
Theater. This is a firm owned by Linda and Shaheen Sadeghi, who also are involved in The Lab and the CAMP in
Costa Mesa. And more. We're excited about where this venture could take the Theater.
• There are a number of actions set for Public Hearing involving the proposed Back Bay Landing project. This project
is located on the NE side of the PCH bridge at Dover, and is about 7 acres. It involves up to 49 new residential units,
as well as commercial and marina space. The action before the City Council on Tuesday is the Council's
consideration of changes to the Coastal Land Use Plan (CLUP) upon which the Project is based. In December 2015,
the Coastal Commission approved our CLUP amendments, but modified them. The modifications included: (1)
removing a height variance allowing a 65' tower (thus the height limit is 35' again); (2) providing for a public
promenade along the bay side of the project; and (3) special preservation of the Pearson's Port retail seafood spot
(among other things). The Coastal Commission has not yet considered the actual Back Bay Landing development
project-just the land use plan associated with it. The project itself goes to the Coastal Commission next. Clear as
mud? For more information, the Commission's "approval with conditions" letter is here.
• Mayor Dixon and Council Member Curry have both inquired about improvements to our electioneering, lobbying
and campaigning rules, so Mayor Dixon has proposed the creation of a "Blue Ribbon Committee on Local Political
Reform" that would include Council members and representatives of the public, as well as hold open meetings on
the subject. If appropriate, the Committee's recommendations (if any) would come back to the full City Council for
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April 11, 2016
Insider's Guide
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consideration. I believe that Mayor Dixon envisions the Committee's work as applying to the next election cycle-
the one that follows the 2016 cycle that we're already in.
Some notes:
• Museum House. As many folks know, the Newport Beach Planning Commission met last night in workshop mode to
hear more about the proposed Museum House project in Newport Center. I didn't attend the meeting, as I was next
door at a Wildlife Watch meeting (coyotes being the subject). It was a full house at the Commission. We've been
getting a few e-mails about this project, so I wanted to make sure a few things were clear:
o There is a defined and precise legal process by which private development proposals are considered.
o The process involves (but is not limited to) CEQA and its evaluations of impacts, public comments, a public
hearing before the Planning Commission, and a public hearing before the City Council.
o The workshop held last night was early in that process-it occurred even before the CEQA document (an
EIR) is done. All ofthat is fine-but...
o If you like or dislike the Museum House Project, your best time to offer comments is still yet to come at the
public hearings, after the CEQA document is released. In fact, the law obligates responses to each comment
provided during the comment period as a part ofthe Final EIR.
o Finally, it is very challenging to be a Council member while a project is working its way through the
process. Why? Because the law also obligates the elected Council to evaluate each project on its merits
based on the most current information and actions and comments at official public hearings. Therefore,
even as a person might want to know specifically how a Council member might vote on this project right
now in the "Little" Ralphs produce aisle, you are likely to hear the Council member say "I appreciate your
comments but I have to see all of the information and hear all of the comments in a public setting before
making up my mind." If they do say that, please respect that and know that the Council members are doing
their best to follow the process.
• Speaking of Coyotes, please check out the NBPD's website to learn more about reporting coyote sightings/behavior
and how to maybe participate in Wildlife Watch, a great program aligned with Neighborhood Watch that helps folks
protect pets, themselves, and to learn more about hazing techniques. I think we're seeing some progress out there,
and it is in large part because we're hardening the target more-more people are becoming aware of how to
protect pets and to decrease coyote attractants.
• Drought news. We've been given a 7% break in our water use reduction targets. That's good news. The State has
allowed us to go from a 28% reduction to a 21% reduction, thanks to the fact that we get much of our potable water
from the Groundwater Replenishment Project (what a good investment that was!). As we all know, we've been
struggling to get to 28%. But we think we can all keep making 21% if we all keep doing what we're doing. Sadly,
that means the drought and its restrictions continue. So we can't let up. If you're getting Notices of Violations
and/or fines, please call us and ask more about how we can help you. Our call volume is way up, and we've assigned
more people to work on the calls, so we all very much appreciate your patience in this regard. For All Things
Drought in NB, click here.
As always, thanks for reading. Feel free to forward this e-mail to family, friends and members of your HOA if you
represent one. I always like hearing from you, too, so please don't hesitate to ask a question or offer a comment.
Sincerely,
Dave Kiff
City Manager
dkiff@newportbeachca.gov
949-644-3001
City Council Meeting Information: The Newport Beach City Council meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of most months
(the exceptions are August and December). Typically, there is a Study Session that starts at 4:00p.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
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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 7:00 p.m., and often has a specific listing of 20-40 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. Please know that I get a copy of that e-mail, too, because in almost all cases
it's something that the City Manager follows-up on. It's my head-start.
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 behind City Hall. You are always welcome to attend in
person, but you can also watch on TV (Channels 3/31) or 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 Dave. I encourage you to read the full agenda if you wish.
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