Insider's Guide

City Council Agenda items and other items of interest to the City Manager

July 5, 2019

A very happy Friday to everyone, following a great 4th of July holiday!  It was wonderful to see so many people enjoying the festivities at Channel Place Park and Mariners Park at our City supported events as well as all over town and at our beaches and harbor.  Another reminder of why our community is so special!  I am also deeply appreciative of our hardworking staff across the organization: Recreation & Senior Services, Police, Fire, Harbor, Public Works and Utilities in particular, who work on the holiday to provide great family friendly activities; patrol and protect our beaches, harbor, neighborhoods and streets so residents and visitors can enjoy the festivities safely; and set up and then clean up our facilities and beaches so the City looks great following all the celebrations.  A big thank you to our terrific staff! 

Our next City Council meeting is Tuesday, July 9.  The following are items that may be of interest.  As always, this is not a summary of the entire agenda, which can be viewed here.

There is no study session so the Regular Session begins at 7:00 p.m. and the following are items of note:    

• On the consent calendar is an amendment to the ordinance limiting Saturday construction and requirement for project signage in designated high density areas.  This new ordinance was adopted by Council on June 11, 2019, following Council discussion and community outreach on addressing the impacts of construction in residential areas.  The amendment will allow HOAs the ability to opt out of the requirements, providing some flexibility to meet the differing needs of neighborhoods within the high density areas.
• Also on the consent calendar is an agreement to receive a structural fire engine from the state’s Office of Emergency Services.  This temporary vehicle assignment gives custody and control of the vehicle to the City while ownership remains with the state.  The engine will be utilized for strike team deployments while also available for local emergencies and as a back-up unit when regular apparatus is out of service for repairs.  Because the ownership resides with the state, the only costs to the City is the annual maintenance and minor repairs.  All repairs exceeding $100 will be paid by the state.  The engine will be stored at Santa Ana Heights Fire Station 7.
• One item is on for Public Hearing, a Ten-Year extension to a Development Agreement for Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.  Hoag is requesting an extension of the development agreement, which would continue to vest Hoag’s development rights of approximately 455,000 sq. ft. of remaining additional office and medical use.  As part of this development agreement extension, Hoag has agreed to provide benefits to the community through a payment of $3 million, in equal annual installments over ten years, to address homelessness and through continued funding of its Community Benefit Program, currently provided at the Melinda Hoag Smith Center for Healthy Living.  The current agreement, if it is not extended, expires in September of this year.    

The Week in Review was provided last week.  In case you missed it, we do post them on the City’s website; the latest edition can be found here. 

Thank you and I hope you enjoyed the read.  Feedback is appreciated so please don’t hesitate to ask a question or offer a comment. 

Grace K. Leung

City Manager, gleung@newportbeachca.gov

City Council Meeting Information

The Newport Beach City Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of most months (the exceptions are August and December). Typically, there is a Study Session that starts at 4 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 p.m., and often has a specific listing of 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. The City Manager also get's a copy of the email, because in almost all cases it’s something that the City Manager follows-up on.  

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. You are always welcome to attend in person, but you can also watch on TV, Spectrum channel 30 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 the City Manager. You are encouraged to read the full agenda if you wish.

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