Factions debate beneficiary of city’s plans

A roughly $43 million development agreement with the Irvine Co. will likely affect a February ballot measure that would require Newport Beach’s next city hall to be built next to the central library. Factions on both sides of the issue, however, disagree on who will benefit at the ballot box because of the deal.

For their part, Irvine Co. representatives say they want to stay out of the heated community debate over where city hall should go.

“We would love to see city hall in Newport Center,” said Daniel Miller, Irvine Co. senior vice president of entitlement and public affairs. “But we won’t take a position on where it should go. We want to remain politically neutral.”

The company has agreed to pay Newport Beach $27 million in development fees to build a new city hall wherever it chooses as part of the deal to create a new planned community in Newport Center. North Newport Center Planned Community would include 430 housing units and expanded retail space for the Irvine Co.

The goal is a pedestrian-friendly mix of retail, office and residential space in Newport Center. City hall would fit well into that mix, Irvine Co. officials say.

“Wherever city hall goes, the money follows,” Miller said. “Everyone gets something out of the it.”

Newport Beach residents against the ballot measure to build city hall next to the central library on Avocado Avenue say the Irvine Co. deal offers the city a cheaper alternative to building next to the library. As part of the deal, the Irvine Co. would give the city an option to buy land for a new city hall in Newport Center between Santa Rosa and San Nicholas drives at the city’s appraised price of about $7.7 million.

“It’s the basis to bring the city together,” said Newport Beach City Councilman Keith Curry, who has been an outspoken opponent of the February ballot measure. “It’s what everyone wants. And it ends the division in our community.”

Proponent’s of architect Bill Ficker’s plan to build next to the central library have long claimed the site would be the cheapest spot for a new city hall because the city already owns the land and because of its central location in Newport Center.

But the promise of another site in Newport Center offers voters a reason to vote against the February ballot measure, Curry said.

“It provides a Newport Center location and a low-cost site. That’s what Bill Ficker wanted all along. It’s a win-win situation for the community.”

Ficker, lead proponent of the February ballot measure, says the city’s pending deal with the Irvine Co. either helps his cause or will have no effect on what voters decide in February.

“I have felt from the last few months that the North Newport Center Planned Community would not affect what we were doing,” Ficker said. “As a matter of fact, it will probably reinforce what our original goals have been.”

Ficker claims building on the library site is still cheaper than the property offered by the Irvine Co. because the city already owns the land.

“We’ve still got about an $8 million advantage because we own it already,” Ficker said.

Opposition to Ficker’s plan has largely centered around the fact that the land next to the library is slated to become a public park. The opposition group Parks are Priceless formed in response to Ficker’s plan. But as part of its pending deal with the city, the Irvine Co. has promised to give the city 3.18 acres of additional land for a park or open space in Newport Center if the city decides to build next to the library or another proposed site nearby at a Orange County Transit Authority park-and-ride facility on San Miguel Drive.

“That is one big argument out of the way,” Ficker said. “It eliminates the argument. We don’t have to debate it anymore.”

Newport Beach City Council is expected to discuss the pending deal at its next meeting Dec. 11, and city officials have said they expect the council to approve the deal before the end of the year.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].