NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL PREVIEW

THE DREDGING DEBATE

Deputy City Manager Dave Kiff is scheduled to report on his visit to the

California Coastal Commission meeting in Santa Rosa, where he will have

presented Newport Beach’s proposal for solving the city’s ongoing problem

with dredging.

The city is hoping for approval from the commission to dump dredge spoils

on beaches with slightly higher silt contents than the commission has

thus far allowed. Through the use of hydraulic dredging techniques, said

Councilman Tod Ridgeway, these spoils could be cleaned to the point of

being mostly -- but not entirely -- sand.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Ridgeway said the city plans to go ahead with additional measurements --

both a chemical test and a bioassay test -- that the commission has

requested for four environmentally sensitive areas of the bay. If these

tests are acceptable, it’s possible that those regions of the bay could

be cleared for dredging within two months, he said.

HARBOR PRIORITIES

Today’s study session will include a discussion of a proposal to add a

harbor element to the general plan and the formation of a harbor

commission.

The purpose of the proposals, Ridgeway said, is “to put back into focus

the overall management and understanding of this bay,” incorporating it

into “our overall awareness and operation as a city.”

If a harbor commission were to be formed, it would tackle issues such as

dredging and pier construction -- “all the things that are really

associated with the lower bay,” Ridgeway said.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The council will place the matter on the agenda for consideration at the

May 23 meeting.

SMART METERS

The council may contract with a company named InnovaPark LLC to convert

50 of its parking meters to “smart meters,” which would prevent “meter

feeding” at short-term parking spaces and in other ways boost revenue

from meters.

The meters would be installed for a 90-day trial period near the McFadden

Square area around 22nd Street, and at the Balboa metered lot.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The council will probably approve the measure.

FYI

* What: Newport Beach City Council meeting and study session

* Where: Council Chambers, 3300 Newport Blvd.

* When: Study session at 4 p.m., council meeting at 7 p.m.

ON THE COUNCIL

John Noyes, mayor

Gary Adams

Dennis O’Neil

Tom Thomson

Jan Debay

Norma Glover

Tod Ridgeway