NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL PREVIEW Here are...

NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL PREVIEW

Here are some items the council will consider tonight.

MAYOR’S REPLACEMENT

Mayor Steve Bromberg must leave his seat on the council, after

being appointed by the governor last week to an Orange County

Superior Court judgeship. His colleagues on the dais must decide how

to replace him, most likely by taking applications and voting to

appoint someone. Bromberg represents the fifth council district,

which includes Balboa Island and Irvine Terrace.

Councilwoman Leslie Daigle was the last council member to be

appointed; in 2004 she replaced Gary Adams, who took a job out of

state. When that selection was made, city officials questioned

whether the council is required to appoint someone or if it can

choose to put the vacant seat on the ballot. A legal opinion said an

appointment is required, but that debate may arise again.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Bromberg will probably announce the date of his resignation, and

council members may set a deadline for applications. Council members

have filled the last two vacancies in their ranks by appointment, but

some in the community will likely grumble that it’s just a way of

bypassing the voters.

WEST SANTA ANA

HEIGHTS CODE

ENFORCEMENT

Since the city annexed the eastern portion of Santa Ana Heights in

2003, city officials have been pushing gently to bring the western

half under the city’s auspices. Tonight the council will vote on a

contract to provide water quality and zoning code enforcement in West

Santa Ana Heights. The county now offers those services to the area

but would reimburse Newport Beach the estimated $30,000 annual cost

of taking over the job.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Council members are likely to approve the contract, which is a

small step toward what the city sees as the inevitable annexation of

the remainder of Santa Ana Heights.

POLICE CHIEF’S

RETIREMENT

After nearly 12 years as Newport Beach’s police chief, Bob

McDonell has reached the limit of what he can draw from the state

pension program, which is used by most city employees. He recently

announced he’ll retire as of July 1. The council will decide whether

to offer him a new two-year contract that continues his current

salary of $162,531 per year and makes contributions to some other

retirement plan.

Under the proposal, two-thirds of what the city now pays the state

for McDonell’s retirement would go to another pension plan that has

not been specified. The city is expected to save $26,000 a year on

the chief’s health and retirement benefits if the contract is

approved.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Keeping McDonell on as police chief is a high priority for City

Manager Homer Bludau, and the council is likely to agree, given the

recent retirements of other high-level police officers and McDonell’s

experience in the police department.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY MORATORIUM

State law in some circumstances permits dispensaries to provide

marijuana to people with medical prescriptions for it. But many

cities, including Newport Beach, don’t have any regulations that say

where or how such a dispensary could be operated.

After two inquiries from people interested in setting up medical

marijuana dispensaries, the city attorney’s office is recommending an

immediate, 45-day moratorium on such facilities. The moratorium would

give council members and the community time to discuss how to

regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in case a formal application

for one is filed.

WHAT TO EXPECT

This is a new issue for the council, and the proposed urgency

ordinance requires five positive votes, so it’s unclear how the vote

will go.

-- Compiled by

Alicia Robinson