Mayor offers idea to blend park, city hall

FASHION ISLAND — Newport Beach mayors typically use their dinner to talk about the state of the city, but Mayor Steve Rosansky seized the opportunity to plug his preferred address for a new city hall.

Rosansky backs a plan to build a city hall on 12 acres next to the city’s central library, land that’s intended to become Newport Center Park. On Tuesday night, he told more than 300 people at the dinner sponsored by community group Speak Up Newport that the city can both provide a park and create a world-class city hall at the location.

“Let’s not be so narrow in our view of what the park can be,” Rosansky said. “Let’s not be bound by the chains of political expediency. Your task is to go home, think about what I said, and contact your council members and the newspapers and let them know what you think.”

The city hall comments capped a speech that was something of a departure from previous years. In 2005, Mayor Steve Bromberg talked about city issues such as the general plan update, and he took the Daily Pilot to task on several fronts. And last year Mayor Don Webb expounded on the city’s history, a favorite topic.

Rosansky’s speech had a captive audience that included Debra Allen, a major supporter of the planned park. She has vigorously opposed any plans for a city hall on the site.

Allen said she was surprised that Rosansky would do an about-face on his 2005 vote to designate the land next to the library as a park.

“Absolutely nothing has changed since then,” Allen said. Nothing is forcing the council to consider the park land for a city hall, and other sites are available, she added.

The rest of the evening at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel was more conventional. Rosansky talked about where the city is making progress — putting the new general plan in place, synchronizing traffic signals throughout the city, and addressing residents’ concerns about the growing number of residential treatment and sober living facilities.

He also recapped the last year, which included the city’s centennial celebration, a new agreement with Orange County letting the city veto a second commercial runway at John Wayne Airport, and starting work on a new fire station in Santa Ana Heights.