HomeMy WebLinkAbout00 - Insider's GuideRecieved After Agenda Printed
September 26, 2017
Insider's Guide
Subject: FW: Newport Beach Insider's Guide - Tuesday, September 26, 2017
A good Friday evening to you.
Here's what might be of interest to you that's on the agenda for the Newport Beach City Council meeting
planned for Tuesday, September 26, 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 focused mostly on John Wayne Airport and the recent Next Gen actions. Study Session
begins at 4:00 p.m. Following closed session items, the evening's Regular Session will start at 7:00
p.m. Here's more on the Study Session:
• The big item is about the FAA, NextGen, and John Wayne Airport. It's been a short while since the FAA
implemented new NextGen departure paths over us here in Newport Beach. A few things to know as you
look at this issue with us: (1) NextGen is a nationwide effort. I was looking back to a briefing I gave nearly
2 years ago to the Council and our comments were "hey, this is coming and it's not good". Indeed, that's
where we are; (2) Of the three new departure tracks that affect us most, each of them seems to have
something wrong with it. The biggest problems may be with the two departure paths (called FINNZ and
HHERO) that are taking about half of all departures too far to the east; (3) the City Council moved to sue
the FAA in October 2016, in part because we suspected that the FAA would get it wrong the first time; and
(4) people should hold out hope that this can and will be improved, and that we are working on it
diligently.
I say this because in 2009, a very similar thing happened. The FAA released a new departure pattern
(called the DUUKE) in September 2009. The DUUKE was our first RNAV departure, and the way it was
coded brought planes well over Eastbluff with a turn over Corona del Mar. It took resident concern, City
activism, and County participation to get the FAA to fix it — and they did. The best fix was the FAA's third
try, and took effect in March 2011— a full eighteen months.
But no, I will not tell you to be patient. No one needs to be patient. In fact, when 21 airports are involved
and the FAA deals with them one by one, Newport Beach residents should be weighing in directly with the
FAA. Because it's hard to contact the FAA's MetroPlex folks directly (snail mail appears to be the preferred
way from the MetroPlex website), we recently set up a web page that allows you to comment, and then
we'll send all comments to the FAA for you. So comment away! That page is here.
But regardless of that, you can and should come to the 4:00 p.m. meeting to learn more and to speak your
mind. One final thought: The Upper Bay is not configured to have a perfect departure pattern using only
one turn. Le. the landforms of the Upper Bay mean that one side is going to be affected a bit more than
another after that first turn. The key is to figure out the path that affects the least amount of people and
that follows the historic departure paths.
At our Regular Session, there were only a few items that jumped out at me. These are:
• Phase III of the Civic Center Sculpture Garden is up for Council review (following a public review and the
Arts Commission's selections). This involves nine sculptures, and would be the third two-year round of
temporary sculptures for the Civic Center park. There will be additional public comment about the
selections. For those who have watched this in the past, a highlight of the public comment is resident
Barry Allen's 3 -minute analysis of what each piece looks like to him. I'm not sure if Barry is planning on
coming down to speak, but I'm bringing popcorn just in case. I might live -tweet it.
• The Wastewater Fee increase was approved at the last meeting, and comes back for "second reading" on
the consent calendar at this Tuesday's meeting.
• Also on the consent calendar is a long resolution that memorializes past City and community action
regarding JWA, and hopefully expresses some intent and direction to address recent resident concerns
about NextGen (as noted in the Study Session synopsis above).
Some community notes:
• For our West Newport friends, the Coastal Country Jam is again taking place at Huntington Beach State
Park this weekend (Saturday, September 23 and Sunday, September 24). Sound from this event has
impacted Newport Beach residents in the past, but I am told that the organizers have taken steps to
reduce the noise impact on the surrounding communities. Residents with noise complaints or concerns
may contact State Parks directly at 951-443-2969 (and ask for Huntington Beach Dispatch). Information on
the event is available here.
• The tragedy at Camp Pendleton several days ago affected many from the 11t Battalion/1St Marines, the
USMC unit that the City adopted over 10 years ago. If you want to know more as to how to help, that link
is here. Our thoughts and prayers remain with them and their families as they recover.
• On a very fun note, the long-awaited Argyros Girl Scout Leadership Center at Marina Park will open
tomorrow, Saturday September 23,d. This is a major accomplishment for the Girl Scouts of Orange County
— they worked so hard to get this facility funded and built. Congratulations!! And many thanks to the
Argyros family for supporting the funding for the Center. The Center replaces the "Girl Scout Hut" that
resided at Marina Park for many, many years when the area was a mobile home park and trailer park
before it. Good job, GSOC!
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 211 and 4t" 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
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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: CityCouncilCa@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.
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