HomeMy WebLinkAbout00 - Insider's GuideAugust 8, 2017
Insider's Guide
Subject: FW: Newport Beach Insider's Guide - Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Happy Friday!
Here's what might be of interest to you that's on the agenda for the Newport Beach City Council meeting
planned for Tuesday, August 8, 2017. 1 don't summarize every item, so make sure you look at the City Clerk's
agenda page to read the whole agenda if you'd like.
The study session is short, and begins at 5:30 p.m. One item is a presentation about the Trauma Intervention
Program (TIP) of Orange County, which has been a wonderful program that assists neighborhood families
following a significant traumatic event, such as an accident or a crime. For more information about TIP and
what it does, click here.
Following closed session items, the evening's Regular Session will start at 7:00 p.m. Here are the items that
may be of interest to you:
• Senate Bill 1 was passed into law earlier this year, and raises the gas tax, vehicle license fees and fees on
electric vehicles. The funds raised are intended to be (in part) returned to local communities for additional
road work. We have identified about $480K in immediate new revenue in this fiscal year that can go
towards roads here, including fixing the remainder of MacArthur to the 73 tollway. About $1.4M is
expected for the community next year from SB 1's changes. These revenues are intended to supplement
(versus supplant) our existing expenditures on roads. So one item on the agenda asks the City to identify
what projects the City intends to make eligible for SB 1 funds.
• Speaking of roads, the next phase of reconstruction Irvine Avenue (this time between 16th and Santiago) is
up for design funding on Tuesday. Construction is expected to be underway in this fiscal year (17-
18). Additionally, the Council will consider awarding a design contract for the now -approved plan for
Bayside Drive's improvements. Recall that the Bayside Drive approved plan is a four lane roadway (two in
each direction) that includes some additional median and landscaping work. Consider this your advanced
warning that both projects will be constructed in the not -too -distant future. O
• Council is asked to weigh in on a working group's amendments to various Council policies. These are the
guidelines and approaches that Councils (over many years) have asked staff and commissions to follow as
we address issues that don't fall under the Newport Beach Municipal Code. Please take a look at the staff
report and its "summary of changes" if you'd like to read more.
• Lastly, for our Balboa Island friends, a more formal discussion for the Council and community about the
upcoming Balboa Island sea wall effort. The current approach is to add 9" to the walls (which are of
varying height now — so adding 9" keeps the variations but just raises the walls) to address storm surges
and King Tides as well as any increases in sea level. Grand Canal and Little Island are already at the correct
heights. This is about a $2M item. Staff report is here.
I'll note too that there is a once -a -year formal meeting of the Newport Beach Public Facilities Corporation —
where the Council acts as the corporation — that is also open to the public and that starts at 5:00 p.m. on
Tuesday, August 8th (also in the Council Chambers). This annual meeting is associated with regular reporting
on the Certificates of Participation (COPs) that were issued to construct the Civic Center and to refund the
Central Library bonds back in 2010. The agenda for this issue is here.
Some community notes:
• The Central Avenue public pier is coming to, well, Central Avenue. Expect construction to start by late
next week. This is the new public pier going in near the Elks' Club and Nobu, off of that little street that
kind of parallels the Newport Boulevard bridge (on the eastern side). We hope that the pier will be
installed this fall.
• Two weeks ago, the Council authorized moving forward with a Prop 218 protest hearing on our
wastewater rates. That means that, possibly, increases could be coming down the, um, pipeline. In the
spirit of transparency, I'll note again that this issue is worth your reading and your attention. Information
is on the City's website here.
• Two Concerts on the Green will have occurred between now and the next time I write. One is this Sunday,
August 6th — that's the Tijuana Dogs. Then on Sunday, September 3, it's Night Shift (Labor Day
weekend). All concerts start at 6:00 p.m. and end by 7:30 p.m. here at the Civic Center. Bring food and
chairs and blankets but no booze. For more information, click here.
As the City Council has only this one meeting planned for August, the Insider's Guide is taking its usual summer
break until shortly after Labor Day. You'll see something from me on Friday the 8th or so, as folks are back in
school, back on the freeways commuting, and yet (I'm sure) the warm summer weather will persist. As
Newport folks know, September can be the best time of year as crowds are smaller, weekends a little less
hectic, and beach time is still terrific.
Enjoy your weekend, and thank you 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 Time Warner / Spectrum 3 and Cox Channel 852 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.
3