The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About00 - Insider's GuideFebruary 28,2017 Insider's Guide From: 0ff, Dave Sent: Friday, February 24,J0l7II:30AK4 Subject: Newport Beach Insider's Guide Tuesday, February 28,20I7 Plus drought, MacArthur Ahappy sunny Friday to you. Before |Qoany further, two things: /1\ For the next 10days orso, please try not 10use MacArthur Boulevard. At all. Just don't. | promise you you'll be happier; and simi|ady—. (J) Please consider clicking here to sign up for a weekly e-mail about traffic advisories in the city. It will help avoid future curse words and one -fingered waves. No, this isn't a perfect way ofletting you know stuff like this, but it's OK. And weneed tofurther upgrade this technology (per what Mayor Muldoon has asked for) and that's coming. But for now, this isagood tool tuavoid gnarly road construction areas. I'll wait as you sign up. OK —thanks! Back to business. The Newport Beach City Council's next meeting is this coming Tuesday, February 28, 2O17starting at4:0Op.m.(Study Session) and 7:0Upm. More detailed Council meeting information isatthe end ofthe Guide. | don't summarize every item onthe agenda, somake sure you look otthe City Clerk's agenda page toread the whole agenda ifyou'd like. The 4:00 p.m. Study Session will befocused onsome Newport Harbor -related issues like onshore and offshore moorings. The Newport Mooring Association (NIVIA), along with our staff and representatives of the Harbor Commission, have been working on further modifications to some of the mooring rules and regulations adopted 3-4 yearsaQo. Council will be briefed on that plan, and offer Council's thoughts before it comes back to the Council as a formal item for adoption inafew more weeks. The other items onthe agenda for Study Session — also about the harbor — are a range of miscellaneous updates from eelgrass to dredging to gosh knows what (staff has broad leeway for this Then the Regular Session begins at 7:00 p.m. Items include: • Earlier inthe school year, vveadopted some parking changes around CdMHStotry tobalance the needs ofarea residents parents, students, and teachers. Sofar itseems tobeworking out OK. We'll memorialize some ofthose changes, including the new street sweeping day (Monday morning) via a consent item. • There is public hearing planned ona7'unitresidential condominium project inSanta Ana Heights (western side) off ofSanta Ana Avenue. The Planning Commission approved the project in November 2016, but a neighbor appealed it to the City Council. • Acouple ofbig dollar items follow that item, these being construction of a new water main near Lido Village and West Newport ($l1SM!) and acontract that tags onto the County ofOrange's sand management work near the Santa Ana River mouth. This latter effort (at $785K) will bring some of that sand to Balboa island, China Cove, and parts mfthe Balboa Peninsula. We've lost some sand (OK, it's never really lost — it just goes offshore for a while) due tothe storms, sothis ishelpful and comes ata good time. * And then finally (drumroll please), the Museum House project comes back to the Council for a decision following residents' submittal of a petition to put this 100 -unit residential condo project in Newport Center (at the current OC Museum of Arts location) to a vote of the NB electorate. Council has a couple of choices: (1) they could rescind the approvals for the Project — doing so would stop the Project; (2) they could decide on Tuesday to come back at a future meeting to place the matter before the voters, picking a time and date for that election at that time. Under the latter action, the project isstopped until/if the voters approve it. As|note all ofthis, there are afew court cases going around that could change these p|ens/acdons. That's pretty much it for the agenda. In the category of random notes and/or Dave's infamous long-winded education bits: • Thank you for your patience with last weekend's storm response. That was a wallop. We had fallen trees, leaning trees, ocean pier damage (mild), a foot of sand on the Ocean Front Walk, and branches and leaves all over the place. Our hard-working Municipal Operations Dept (MOD) crews have pretty much gotten the community back to normal, and I thank them for the work they did (including last Friday in the thick of the storm). They are a great group of people who care a lot about the community. If you have any issues that are residual from the storm, or want a tree looked at, please don't hesitate to contact MOD at 949-644-3055. • The next gathering of Women in Newport Networking is coming up on Thursday, March 16th, 2017, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. here at the Civic Center's community room. WiNN's special guest speaker is OC Supervisor (and current Board Chairman) Michelle Steel. To RSVP, click here. • Is the drought over? Is it? Please, can it be over? Even as the rain poured down upon us, this is a stubborn drought. So it's not over. Why? It has to do with how we in Newport Beach get our drinking water. Remember that about 70% of our potable water comes from a huge groundwater basin beneath HB and Fountain Valley (thus FV's name) administered by the Orange County Water District (OCWD). The other 30% comes from surface water systems (Colorado River, CA and Fed Water Projects, etc) administered by the Metropolitan Water District and its OC affiliate (MWDOC). MWDOC has declared the drought over. Good for MWDOC. But that's really in words only, because MWDOC doesn't have that power. But that's still just 30% of our water. Read how OCWD respectfully disagrees with MWDOC. The most important issue for the other 70% of our water is the current level of the OCWD groundwater basin. The Basin is down (from where it should be) by about 400,000 acre feet of water, following years of drought draw -downs. This year's storms (to date) are projected to add about 80,000 AF, leaving a deficit of 320,000 AF. That's still a big deficit. FYI, the basin is recharged both by stormwater and by injection of highly - treated wastewater. To learn more about this, click here. So no, as hard as it is to see when the rain has been so great, our drought really isn't over 'til the basin is recharged more O. But the City will still work with the State and our OCWD/MWDOC partners to review our conservation goals and restrictions to see what makes sense for us — giving you (hopefully) the maximum flexibility to moderately conserve in the manner you see fit. • Back to MacArthur Boulevard — good news, the end is in sight. You will want to avoid MacArthur basically at all times (even tomorrow, Saturday, Feb 25th — see the map below!). Even when lanes are not closed, the pavement isn't fun to drive on. And when lanes seem open right before you and it looks clear, that can be deceiving. You go around a turn and you're stuck - stuck for a while. Dang, that happened to me and I should know better. Good alternatives are: (1) Jamboree, (2) Newport Coast, (3) finding your way to San Miguel; or (4) Marguerite to San Joaquin Hills to San Miguel to Ford/Bonita Canyon. Please know that this is daytime work— in part because we have residents that live along this route (the grinding is quite loud) and the paving material (rubberized asphalt) needs a certain air temperature for it to set properly. Please pass the word to neighbors, NextDoor pals, and your HOA. For more information about any Newport Beach traffic project, link here. 2 Asalways, 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 949'644-2001 City Council Meeting Information: The Newport Beach City Council meets on the 2 nd and 4 th Tuesdays of most months /the exceptions are August and December). Typically, there is 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. Adoyed session often follows the Study Session. Closed sessions are typically to address legal, personnel, and other matters where additional confidentiality is important. The Regular (eveniog) Session typically starts at 7:00 p.m., and often has a specific listing of 20-40 different items ready for formal votes. |temsonthe"ConxentCa|endor"areheardaUetnnce,un|essa[ounci|memberhasremoved(aka"pu||ed")an item from the Consent Calendar for specific discussion and separate vote. |fanitem onthe agenda isrecommended 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 iswelcomed atboth the Study Session and the Regular Session. The public can comment nnany item onthe 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 3 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: CitVCouncil@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 stream it 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. 4