The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About00 - Insiders GuideOctober 24, 2017 Insider's Guide From: Kiff, Dave Sent: Friday, October 20, 2017 4:21 PM Subject: Newport Beach Insider's Guide - Tuesday, October 24, 2017 Here's what might be of interest on the agenda for the Newport Beach City Council meeting planned for Tuesday, October 24, 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 begins at 4:00 p.m. with a couple of interesting items. • If you've ever wondered if traffic system management is going to change with automation, this is a good one for you. Our Public Works staff will discuss new technologies in guiding you and your car (or bike) on your way through town. This includes information such as that gathered by Google and Waze as they use your phone (and how it pings one antenna then another as you travel) to give you timely information about current commute routes and times. Crosswalks on the Balboa Peninsula. We didn't get to it last time, so this is a re -do. Public Works has been working on ways to improve pedestrian visibility at the many crosswalks and intersections along Balboa Boulevard and parts of Newport Boulevard. Following closed session items, the evening's Regular Session will start at 7:00 p.m. I have to confess that it looks pretty quiet. But here are a few more noteworthy items: • The annual review of the Zoning Agreement between the City and Sober Living by the Sea. This Agreement was entered into in 2009, and settled litigation at the time. The City asked SLBTS to deconcentrate some of its recovery facilities, as well as to agree to a cap on beds citywide and certain protocols associated with doing business in residential areas. SLBTS, in turn, asked for the ability to remain in some places and to have adequate time to de -concentrate. As has been the case in past years, the City has found SLBTS to be generally in compliance with the Agreement. A fairly large dollar item to support the reconstruction of our ocean piers. We typically remove and replace the piers' piles and struts on a regular basis, so this is actually a fairly routine item for us. The dollar amount ($1.4M) is a bit larger this time, though, as the piers are showing their age. And the Balboa Pier took a beating or two over the last weekend with the high surf, so we had some emergency work to do. Some community notes: • The first involves two programs by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce: One is the Chamber's annual Citizen of the Year dinner, where they will honor former City Manager Homer Bludau. The honor is well-deserved, given Homer's work as city manager as well as in retirement. Congratulations, Homer. This event is Friday evening, November 3 at the Balboa Bay Resort. Second is the Chamber's annual Economic Forecast. Presenters there will be UCLA's Jerry Nickelsburg, UCI's Christopher Schwarz, and the OC Register's Jonathan Lanser. This event is next Friday, October 27 at lunchtime also at the Balboa Bay Resort. For more information on either event, click here or call 949-729-4400. • For those of you following the review process for the Koll Center Residences near John Wayne Airport, it's likely that the project may not be heard before the Planning Commission at least until sometime in January 2018 (versus initial plans for December 2017). A community meeting is planned on the 260 -unit project for Monday, October 3011 in the Friends Room at the Central Library starting at 6:00 p.m. More information is here. • 1 read a story as many did in the OC Business Journal about the land beneath the Newport Beach Tennis Club being sold to a new owner (this is the club near the Ralphs in Eastbluff). Please know that, thus far, the only rumor we have heard is that the new owner may keep the tennis club use there. Any change in the use from something that is recreational in nature would require a General Plan Amendment, a zoning change, and possibly (depending on scope of the change) a vote of the electorate under Greenlight. • Wind and Heat coming. According to the weather, we have some "red flag" days ahead, especially Tuesday. Having just watched (and worried about) the Sonoma and Napa County fires over the past many days, we all worry about our own wildland-urban interface areas during Santa Ana conditions. For those of us on the eastern side of town, near Buck Gully, near Upper Newport Bay or adjacent to any area with dry brush, please be prepared and aware. Some great information about the wildland-urban interface is on our Fire Department webpage. And Cal -Fire's good information about preparing your home, family, and pets for fast evacuation ("Ready, Set, Go!") is here. Knowing all that, please 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.