Facts about City Hall

FACTS ABOUT CITY HALL

Who actually uses Newport Beach’s City Hall? Here are some facts and figures to help answer that question.

Number of city employees on-site: About 250

Visitors per year: Unknown. The only departments that have reliable counts are the building and recreation counters, which serve about 2,600 and 18,000 people per year, respectively.

Things you can do at City Hall: Pay water or municipal service bills, apply for a dog license, fill out a passport application or voter registration form, get a building permit, sign up for recreation programs, or go to a City Council meeting.

A NEW HALL: THE OPTIONS

When deciding where to put Newport Beach’s City Hall, there’s a lot more to consider than just the cost. Here’s a rundown of the statistics and major considerations for each suggested site.

Details: At 3300 Newport Blvd.; 3.9 acres; five main buildings include 42,951 square feet; three trailers and a planned fourth one provide additional space; about 170 parking spaces on-site, with more parking at nearby city lot.

Costs: A 2005 estimate was $48 million, with about $6 million of that for a new fire station; public works director Steve Badum estimates about $5.7 million inflation in the costs since 2005.

Issues: City workers would have to be relocated off-site during construction; Balboa Peninsula is more vulnerable to the admittedly rare possibility of a tsunami; location no longer central to the city but has claims of tradition; fire station on the site needs to be rebuilt regardless, but would have to be done as part of a new city hall; no public vote required.

Details: Adjacent to central library on Avocado Avenue; 12.8 acres; preliminary suggestion includes 72,000-square-foot city hall and 310 parking spots, some of which would serve the library.

Costs: $54.5 million for city hall/parking; cost for additional parkland unknown.

Issues: The city might need to buy land to replace some of promised parkland, depending on how much space a city hall requires; Irvine Co. approval required to change land use from 1992 park agreement; Greenlight vote required to change general plan.

Details: On Avocado Avenue near the intersection at San Miguel Drive; 4.7 acres for city hall/parking; 72,000-square-foot city hall and 300 parking spaces.

Costs: Cost includes rebuilding of OCTA facilities on a nearby parcel, but not the land costs for both parcels, which are unknown; Irvine Co. parcel for new bus terminal is 2.3 acres.

Issues: Requires negotiation with the Irvine Co. and OCTA; Greenlight vote could be required, depending on how many vehicle trips generated.

Details: In 500 block of Newport Center Drive at San Nicolas Drive; size unknown; the land is now used for parking; the Irvine Co. has offered a 99-year lease, and city would pay for its own building; facilities likely would be of similar size to those proposed at other sites.

Costs: Unknown; facilities may cost around $40 million.

Issues: City charter forbids leases longer than 25 years without voter approval or an option to purchase; Greenlight vote might be required to change the land use.

Note: To see photographs of all four sites, go to www.dailypilot.com and look for the Special Report on City Hall Showdown.

TO FIND OUT MORE

For online information about Newport Beach’s city hall debate, visit these websites.

To learn about the ballot measure, donate to the effort or sign the petition, go to www.cityhallinthepark.com.

To hear the views of ballot measure opponents and park supporters, or to remove your name from the petition, try www.parksarepriceless.org.

The city website has an entire page containing studies, meeting minutes, and other data and documents on earlier planning for a civic center at the current City Hall site. That information can be found at www.city.newport-beach.ca.us/Pubworks/cityhall.html.

THE BALLOT MEASURE

The City Council has repeatedly voted against using the Newport Center Park parcel for a city hall, but a group of residents and a minority of council members think it’s the best option. The City Hall in the Park group, led by Bill Ficker, is trying to get a charter change on the February 2008 ballot that would require city hall to be built on the park site. Here’s the rundown of efforts for and against the measure.

Number of signatures needed: 8,997

Deadline: Aug. 27

Ficker’s signature goal: 12,000

Signatures gathered: The group has not disclosed this information

Number of requests to remove signatures from the petition: 19

To read the ballot language, visit www.dailypilot.com and look for the Special Report on City Hall Showdown.