NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL PREVIEW

Here are some items the council will consider tonight.

BUCK GULLY MANAGEMENTThe city took over control of Buck Gully from the county in 2005. It’s considered a potentially rich natural resource, but it also poses various problems — invasive plant species live there, adjacent housing developments send runoff into the gully and it’s a possible source of fire danger.

The council will decide whether to spend money to develop a detailed plan to manage the resources and address the problems in Buck Gully. Future plans for the gully would include replanting it with native plants; making improvements to prevent erosion; and installing signs, benches and other amenities to encourage public use of the area.

If the council agrees, the city would spend $99,983 to contract with the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust, a nonprofit organization that manages resources in several cities. Over the next 18 months, creating a plan for Buck Gully and carrying it out is expected to cost $203,425.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The council probably will agree to contract with the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust to manage Buck Gully because adequately managing it was one of the responsibilities the city agreed to when taking control of the land.

GENERAL PLAN COMMITTEEVoters in November approved a major overhaul of the city’s General Plan that took several years to write, but that’s not the end of the work. Now, the broader changes in land use that were approved have to be written into specific zoning rules and guidelines for development.

Assistant City Manager Sharon Wood has suggested the council create an ad hoc committee to oversee the process of putting the General Plan into specific rules and regulations. She also recommended interim zoning rules to cover situations when property owners ask to do things that aren’t allowed in the new General Plan but would have been fine under the old rules, for example.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The council probably will agree to the recommendations.

Compiled by Alicia Robinson

IF YOU GONewport Beach City Council meeting

WHAT:

WHEN: 7 p.m. today

WHERE: City Council chambers, City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd.

FYI: (949) 644-3005 or www.city.newport-beach.ca.us