HomeMy WebLinkAbout00 - Insider's GuideNovember 22, 2016
Insider's Guide
From: Kiff, Dave
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2016 11:37 AM
Subject: Insider's Guide for Tuesday, November 22, 2016
A good Friday to you.
Here's what's on the agenda for the Newport Beach City Council meeting set for Tuesday, November 22, 2016.
More detailed Council meeting information is at the end of the Guide. I don't summarize every item on the agenda, so
make sure you look at the City Clerk's agenda page to read the whole agenda if you'd like.
There is no study session, so the evening's meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. A couple of items are worth your attention:
• This is relatively minor, but we'll ask the Council to process a Local Coastal Program (LCP) amendment for the Lido
House Hotel to add 4,745 square feet primarily for storage and logistical purposes.
• A couple of things passed last time get second reading — updated building and fire codes, and the formal adoption
of our LCP's Implementation Plan.
• The folks in Cameo Shores are happy to see a massive street reconstruction program finished —that was a job long
in the doing and long necessary.
• There was going to be a public hearing about outdoor dining at the Village Inn on Balboa Island, but this is
recommended to be removed from consideration at this time.
• The City and the Irvine Company have discussed an extension to the roughly 15 -year old development agreement
that addresses remaining unbuilt entitlement in the Newport Coast. That proposed extension is set for a public
hearing.
• The landowners of the "old" Riverside Avenue post office have asked that the General Plan and Zoning designations
for the 0.52 acre site be changed from Public Facilities to Mixed Use. Generally, doing so would allow a minimum of
10 residential units and a max of 13 to be constructed there. However, there is no project under consideration at
this time that would do that —just the zoning and GP change.
• Council will spend some time discussing alternative designs for improvements to Bayside Drive between West
Coast Highway (near Dover) and Marine/Jamboree. This is an area where Bayside Drive residents have expressed
concerns about rates of travel and reckless driving. Both concept designs involve some measure of traffic
calming. Traffic calming helps use the street's own design to slow speeds down. One plan has a roundabout (1) at
the intersection of Harbor Island Drive and Bayside. Quick aside: the little town in Northern CA where I grew up
just about had a civic meltdown (waged via letters to the editor) over adding a roundabout to the main route of
travel through town. But it's in now, at least in an early construction phase, and everyone seems to say it's a big
improvement over what was there before.
Some random notes:
I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving Day holiday. As a reminder, City offices are closed both on
Thursday and Friday of next week.
Harbor Tour! The Newport Beach Harbor Commission is conducting its biennial Saturday morning Harbor Tour on
Saturday, December 101h . The meeting starts at 8:30 a.m. at the Harbor Patrol facility off of Bayside Drive. Any
member of the public can attend provided you are not the person that makes us exceed boat capacity. That's about
60-70 guests in addition to Harbor Commissioners. You always have the option of swimming or paddling to keep up
O. Topics for consideration range from derelict vessels to alternative anchorages to the new Central Avenue Pier to
speed limits and (our favorite) copper -based anti -fouling paints.
A reminder of upcoming meetings. There are three more planned for 2016: This one on 11-22, then the Council
will hear the proposed Museum House project starting at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 29th. The final
proposed meeting of this term, which is also the meeting that starts the Council's 2017-2019 term, is set for
Tuesday, December 13th. It is likely we'll start that meeting with the "old Council" and regular business items as
soon as 5:00 p.m. Later in the evening, near 7:00 p.m., is the traditional reorganization of the Council, with
statements for and from departing Council members, the swearing in of three new members, and the election of the
2017 Mayor and Mayor pro Tempore. After that date, the new Council may not meet again until January 10th,
2017.
As always, thanks for reading. Please forward this Guide 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 4:00 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 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.