HomeMy WebLinkAbout10 - Amending the Structure, Membership, Roles and Responsibilities of the Aviation Committee - CorrespondenceReceived after Agenda Printed
June 10, 2025
Item No. 10
Mel Beale- personal note re:
Resolution No. 2025-31, Agenda Item # 10- Amending the Structure, Membership, Roles and
Responsibilities of the Aviation Committee
I greatly appreciate the diligence of the ad hoc committee in addressing the Aviation Committee structure and
operating principles. Much of the content within the Resolution Attachment A actually tracks with some of my
personal thoughts regarding the need for expertise, etc. But an issue of this importance should go through a
broader due diligence discussion as it is critical issue for the city, and due to the issues arising in the next 4
years, you must get this right.
With public notification issued June 6 (after 6pm) and the council consideration and vote by the Consent
Calendar motion scheduled for Tuesday June 10, there is little time for public and organizational consideration.
1- First, I don't think something as important as codifying a new Aviation Committee structure just prior
to the initiation of the negotiation of the Settlement Agreement extension is appropriate to be on the
Consent Calendar. Consent Calendar items are supposed to be routine. This is not routine and
deserves a period of time for the community (i.e., voters) to weigh in on the "ad hoc" committee
recommendations. It should be pulled from the consent calendar and added as a topic for community
input at a later council meeting (not this Tuesday), to give the citizens time to consider the proposed
restructured model. That could then be followed with a published schedule for a line -item agenda
vote by the City Council (not Consent Calendar) at a future meeti
2- Second, reasons should be given for the proposed reorg and why this proposal is superior to the
existing structure where each district is currently represented by a citizen member selected by the
district council member.
3- Announcing this on such short term notice is not good practice. Less than 24 business hours (Friday,
Monday, Tuesday) between this change notification and the council vote? There is no time for
organizations or residents to consider these items and their potential impact.
4- Under the proposed reorg, the smaller citizen member group is to be appointed by the mayor and only
a majority vote required for approval.... citizen input seems minimal. Maybe an approach would be to
allow prospective candidates to be nominated by the public as well as proposed by council members,
with the mayor judging qualifications against the criteria, making appointments, then confirmation by
the council?
The above comments do not mean that I do not agree that changes were needed and more expertise is
required by the city, but advise allowing more time for thought and discussion by the broader community
impacted.
Thank you for your consideration,
Mel Beale
Newport Beach resident
From:
To:
Subject:
Date:
Susan Dvorak
City Clerk"s Office; DDe t - City Council
Resolution No. 2025-31: Aviation Cmte Structure Amendments
June 09, 2025 4:01:05 PM
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June 9, 2025
Response to Resolution No. 2025-31:
A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach, California, Amending the
Structure, Membership, Roles and Responsibilities of the Aviation Committee
Dear Members of the Newport Beach City Council:
As a Newport Beach resident, I have been involved in aviation -related issues for the past nine
years having served as Chair and now as Vice Chair of the Orange County Airport Commission
representing District 5; serving as a member on the Newport Beach Aviation Committee; and,
as a founding member of Citizens Against Airport Noise and Pollution (CAANP). However, I
write to you today to express my own independent opinions and views in this correspondence
and do not represent any of the aforementioned groups.
While I strongly support the City Council's proposed resolution to amend the structure of the
Newport Beach Aviation Committee to include residents with relevant technical expertise, and
to reduce the number of participants on the Aviation Committee, I am concerned that this
committee will no longer include citizen group representatives that reflect residents' voices.
It is imperative to ensure groups such as SPON and AWG are directly represented within the
Aviation Committee's structure as these groups created the very foundation upon which the
City's aviation -related policies were created by initiating the legal action which led to the 1985
Settlement Agreement with the County of Orange.
As you are well aware, SPON and AWG are signatories to the Settlement Agreement, and
negotiations to extend the Agreement will take place in the very near future. Excluding
representatives from these two citizen groups on the Aviation Committee gives the
appearance that the City is no longer interested in working in partnership with them to
achieve a positive outcome for residents from the Settlement Agreement negotiations. And, in
any case, the City should seek every opportunity to give a voice to citizens and to groups
representing those who are directly impacted by the airport.
I am especially concerned that the resolution stipulates that the Qualification of Citizen
Members includes expertise and professional experience in "commercial real estate or a
similar field." It is unnecessary to include commercial real estate professionals to participate
on the Aviation Committee unless the City Council's purpose is to grow the airport to suit the
goals of commercial developers. Commercial real estate professionals' goals are at antithetical
to the historic goals of the City of Newport Beach to control the growth of the airport.
I urge you to consider further amending Resolution No. 2025-31 to include representatives
from SPON and AWG on the Aviation Committee, and to exclude "commercial real estate or
similar related field" from the qualifications of citizen members.
Sincerely,
Sue Dvorak