By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
Our next City Council meeting is Tuesday, January 11th. Topics that may be of interest are highlighted below. The full agenda and all reports can be viewed here: https://www.newportbeachca.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/68205/72.
4 pm.: Closed session.
5 p. M..: Regular session. Featured items:
Consent schedule:
- A resolution to create a steering committee to help oversee the development of the City’s General Plan Update. The committee will help shape the scope of the General Plan update, participate in the selection of a consultant, and provide periodic reports to the City Council, among other tasks. The last comprehensive update of the General Plan was in 2006.
- A contract amendment with Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc., in the amount of $ 85,765, for services related to the Newport Bay garbage wheel project. The goal of the garbage wheel project is to capture a significant portion of the floating garbage and debris that now flows from San Diego Creek into Newport Bay and the harbor. The device is modeled after the successful garbage wheel installed in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor in 2015. It is a moored vessel that uses feathers to collect garbage and move it to a rotating garbage wheel, where it is then transported to a conveyor belt and to a Dumpster. for collection and disposal. Construction of the garbage wheel is expected to begin in late 2022 and be completed in spring 2024.
- Amendments to the municipal code of the City related to the operation of the facilities for the sober life of residential group homes. The proposed amendments would standardize the application requirements for group facilities and establish standard approval conditions. Application requirements may include admissions procedures, relapse policies, and staff qualifications. Possible approval conditions may include transportation responsibilities for residents upon completion of the program or eviction, facility inspections, and Narcan requirements in place. The requirements would only apply to care facilities that are under the City’s land use authority (facilities serving seven or more occupants). The City does not have regulatory jurisdiction over residential care facilities serving six or fewer occupants, which are permitted by the state.
Current business:
- The Council will consider a new eight-year agreement with the City’s garbage and recycling contractor, CR&R. The City’s residential waste collection program is being modified to comply with recent changes in state law. Among other requirements, the new state law requires all cities to implement organic waste recycling. This will require a program of solid waste collection, mixed recyclables and organic waste recycling from three separate carts at source, which includes food and garden waste. City staff is seeking Council approval of a Residential Solid Waste Collection and Recycling Contract with CR&R that reflects the new components of the program required by the State and consolidates two existing contracts into one (formerly the Newport Coast area received services under a separate CR&R contract). The new contract will provide the required organic waste collection and recycling cart services in addition to mixed recyclable cart services for all residents, bringing the city’s garbage program into compliance with state mandates. The initial increase in the City’s waste collection and recycling costs will be approximately $ 2.9 million per year, partially offset by $ 1.3 million in additional recycling fees approved in March 2021. The net increase from the City’s General Fund it will be approximately $ 1.5 million per year. As part of the proposed contract, CR&R will update its collection routes to provide greater efficiency, cost savings and safety, as well as reducing truck traffic and emissions. As a result, the collection days of about 14,000 residences will be changed beginning in February 2022. The City and CR&R will notify affected residents of the changes in advance. For more information on organic recycling and frequently asked questions, visit http://www.newportbeachca.gov/recycle.
- In a separate action, the Council will consider changes to the street sweeping routes to align with the new garbage and recycling collection routes. These changes will avoid conflict, address parking conditions, and maintain effective street sweeping. The affected areas are parts of the Balboa Peninsula and Corona del Mar. Staff also recommends the establishment of parking restrictions for street sweeping on a portion of Narcissus Avenue and in the city’s industrial area on West 16th Street, Production Place, Monrovia Avenue and Babcock Street.
City council meeting information
The Newport Beach City Council meets the second and fourth Tuesday of most months (exceptions are August and December). Typically, there is a study session that begins at 4 pm Study sessions are times for the Council to take an in-depth look at a specific topic, or listen to a presentation, which could eventually lead to specific and more formal action. Often a closed session follows the study session. Closed sessions are typically to address legal, personnel, and other matters where additional confidentiality is important.
The regular (evening) session usually begins at 6pm and often has a specific list of different items ready for formal voting. Items in the “Consent Calendar” are heard all at once, unless a Council member has deleted (also known as “retired”) an item from the Consent Calendar for a specific discussion and separate vote. If it is recommended to “continue” an agenda item, it means that the item will not be heard or voted on that night, but will advance to another notified meeting.
Public comments are welcome both in the study session and in the regular session. The public can comment on any item on the agenda. If you want to comment on an item in the Consent Calendar that was not pulled from the Consent Calendar by a Council member, you will want to do so at the time indicated on the agenda, just before the Council votes the entire Consent Calendar (it’s Roman Numeral XIII of the published agenda).
If an article is withdrawn, the mayor will offer to allow members of the public to comment as that specific article is heard separately. In addition, there is a specific Public Comments section for topics that are not on the agenda, but on a topic related to the city government.
If you cannot attend a meeting and / or wish to communicate directly with the City Council, this email reaches all of them: [email protected]. The city manager also receives a copy of the email, because in almost all cases it is something that the city manager keeps track of.
The Council meets in the Council Chambers at 100 Civic Center Drive, off Avocado between San Miguel and East Coast Highway. There is plenty of space to park in the parking structure. You can always attend in person, but you can also watch it on TV, Spectrum Channel 30 and Cox Channel 852, or stream it on your computer.