Speculation grows over Dunes postponement

Noaki Schwartz

NEWPORT BEACH -- While some believe the City Council had ulterior motives

when it postponed a vote on the controversial Dunes proposal until this

fall, others say the decision is a reflection of a very deliberative

council.

“We’re not being influenced by outside political forces,” said Mayor John

Noyes. “While I’m the mayor, I will try to do what’s best for the city

until the last day I’m on the City Council.”

The council last week voted 5-1 to delay consideration of the

$100-million hotel project until its first meeting in September. Noyes

said after weighing the enormous consequences of making a decision on the

Dunes with the fact that so many council members would be out during the

summer months, postponement was a responsible move.

However, not all the council members supported the decision.

Councilman Gary Adams voted against postponing consideration another two

and a half months.

“I think it’s unfair to everyone,” Adams said, “to opponents and

proponents.”

The proposal is for a four-star, 470-room hotel and time-share. The

project has already taken six months to get through the Planning

Commission, which combed through the development and made some

significant cuts to the original proposal. Even so, if the project is

approved, it would be one of the largest hotels in the city.

Other former city officials took Adams’ point a step further and asked

why the council didn’t call a special meeting or simply consider the

project with one council member absent. After all, one city official

pointed out, they did decide on the $130-million budget with a smaller

council.

“It’s hard sometimes to get everyone there, but they’re elected to be

there and you move forward,” said former mayor Clarence Turner.

Former mayor Tom Edwards remembered that when he was on the council,

council members were absent time and again when they voted on major

issues.

“John used to fly in from Japan for council meetings,” he said. “John and

I agreed on one thing and one thing only -- if you make a decision,

explain it to the electorate.”

Former mayor and Greenlight proponent Evelyn Hart added that she suspects

there must have been some political motive behind the surprising move.

Still, the council members who voted to postpone the action are standing

by their decision. Councilwoman Jan Debay said that with the Greenlight

initiative appearing on the November ballot, the council needs to be very

thorough. The measure would give residents the final say on certain major

developments, even after the Planning Commission and City Council have

approved the project.

“Because of Greenlight and the location, you just have to work extra

hard,” Debay said, referring to the Dunes project’s location on the

environmentally sensitive Back Bay.

“If we ignore the traffic concerns, it will impact the vote on

Greenlight.”