Park pulled from sites for new hall

Council decides against considering spot near library for proposed Newport Beach city hall.Land intended for a park next to the Newport Beach Central Library won’t be considered as a new city hall site.

The 12-acre site -- already named Newport Center Park -- has been mentioned as a prime spot for a city hall because it’s accessible from major roads and is more central than the current location on Balboa Peninsula.

But council members decided Tuesday that studying the parcel as a new city hall location could be seen as reneging on the long-standing promise of a park -- and snubbing a $1.2-million donation for the park’s development.

The council opted in November to form two committees -- one to study possible city hall sites and another to discuss how to finance city facilities over the next 20 years -- instead of proceeding with plans for a $48-million civic center at the current City Hall site.

The council spent about $625,000 to have a consultant draw up preliminary plans for the civic center, including a new fire station and parking garage. But some residents have complained about the current site and said not enough community input had been solicited.

Although the studies are intended to assuage those concerns, several council members have said it’s likely they’ll determine there’s no better site than the current one.

The site committee will have a difficult job, because there’s little undeveloped land in the city and most sites are likely to have constraints. For example, the library park site would have needed deep excavation and may have posed problems with groundwater.

At some sites, the council may need voter approval for rezoning; even redeveloping the current site would require a vote.

“There is no perfect site, because people can even criticize this site for the susceptibility to a tsunami or an earthquake or the traffic,” City Manager Homer Bludau said of the plot where City Hall now stands. “I think we’re really looking at the committee’s work to really assess those strengths and weaknesses and maybe come up with some sites that have not been thought of before.”

Each committee will include between seven and 11 community members and two nonvoting council members. How much council members should participate on the committees’ work was a point of contention Tuesday, with some on the council saying they shouldn’t be on the committees at all.

“As much as I hate to let the committee go it alone, because you never know what you’re going to come back with, I think that’s the only way you’re going to legitimately be able to say to the community this is the community’s will or judgment,” Councilman Steve Rosansky said.

Several community members at Tuesday’s meeting urged the council to retain the library site for a park. Debra Allen, who chairs the city’s parks commission, cautioned that the city might lose a promised $1.2-million donation if the site were included in the city hall study. The potential donor has asked not to be identified yet.

The council seems to be fighting hard to get the community on board. But Councilman Dick Nichols, who cast the sole vote against taking the park site out of the study, said the decision would undermine the study’s credibility.

“I think if you’re going to take this out and modify and change the ground rules all the time, the study will be a sham,” he said.

CITY COMMITTEES

The city of Newport Beach is seeking volunteers to serve on two committees that will meet weekly from late January through April. One committee will consider and recommend possible sites for a new city hall; the other will look at the city’s facilities needs over the next 20 years and how they can be financed. Applications are available from the city clerk’s office, 3300 Newport Blvd.; by calling (949) 644-3005; or from the city website at www.city.newport-beach .ca.us, by clicking on “Citizen participation information.” Applications are due Jan. 6 at noon.