Newport Beach City Council hopefuls weigh in on housing, homelessness and more in first candidate forum

Candidates vying for three Newport Beach City Council seats up for grabs in November fielded questions on housing, homelessness, public safety and more at this election cycle’s first candidate forum Thursday.

About 60 people attended the discussion, which was hosted by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Tom Johnson of Stu News. The featured participants were Nancy Scarbrough and Michelle Barto competing for the second district seat to be vacated by Brad Avery; Jeff Herdman going up against incumbent Noah Blom in district five; and Miles Patricola and Sara Weber seeking the seventh district seat now held by Mayor Will O’Neill.

The forum began with opening statements and a silent rapid-fire round, in which candidates indicated thumbs up or down in response to yes or no questions. Those touched on topics including climate change, rent control, traffic, the regulation of e-bikes and a stalled plan to the bury sediment from dredging unfit for release in the ocean in Newport Bay. Candidates were also asked to express their approval or disapproval of the construction of a community pool at Lower Castaway Park and a community center in West Newport, relocation of the police station to the airport area, the widening of Mariner’s Mile and a proposal to turn the position of mayor into an elected office that failed in 2022.

Candidates were then given 90 seconds to comment on specific topics, beginning with homelessness.

Homelessness

More than 70 people were living on the street in Newport Beach, according to the most recent Point in Time data revised by the county in May. Last year the City Council approved a no-camping ordinance, and in June a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the city of Grant’s Pass, Ore., cleared the way for local governments to enforce such laws regardless of whether shelter beds are available for those displaced.

The city has an agreement to reserve shelter beds at the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter. It also has a contract with the nonprofit Be Well to provide outreach and support services to people who are homeless in Newport Beach.

“I was on council when Newport Beach and Costa Mesa negotiated the agreement for the shelter that is currently being used now, and it is constantly full,” Herdman said. “Although the state has passed new laws that says we can take them off the street we have no place to put them ... permanent supportive wraparound services is the ideal solution.”

Barto, Scarbrough and Weber said Newport Beach has made significant progress in addressing homelessness with supportive housing and other programs. But they also expressed openness toward stricter enforcement of the anti-camping ordinance in the wake of the Grant’s Pass decision. They characterized the ruling as a tool to potentially compel chronically homeless people dealing with addiction or mental health conditions into treatment.

Blom also backed the city’s anti-camping ordinance and it said it has been successful in restoring access to areas of the Newport Beach that were being taken up by tents and other makeshift shelters. Alluding to a higher rate of mental illness and substance abuse in the homeless population, he said city leaders ought to ensure that these places remain free of encampments.

“When we look at something like McFadden Square and we look at places the bus depots, those have been our biggest focus,” Blom, the only incumbent on Thursday’s panel, said. “Because getting people that are from somewhere else stopping by here to create an atmosphere of drug use and mental health issues is really what we have to attack first.”

Patricola emphasized supportive housing and treatment. He also suggested creating a program to give local businesses incentive to hire people staying at the Bridge Shelter.

“I’ve worked with homeless people,” Patricola said. I’ve hired homeless people. I understand that they are people, and that they’re not a problem. They’re people, so I want to make sure our city is treating them in that way and with that mindset.”

Housing

Newport Beach is under state mandate to zone for an additional 4,845 residential units by the 2029 end of the current Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) Cycle. It’s certified Housing Element, which is the document outlining how the city will go about that process, plans for an additional 8,174 homes. Supporters of the plan the city is currently trying to implement say that buffer is needed in part due to the challenge of meeting requirements for the inclusion of affordable housing in a valuable coastal property market.

In Newport Beach a household qualifies as low income if it earns 80% of the city’s median wages, which were of $200,000 for families and $70,000 for non-family households, according to data from the 2020 Census. That’s roughly $160,000 and $56,000, respectively.

Many candidates shied away from using the term “low-income” in reference to housing in Newport Beach. Instead, they said the city lacks “workforce housing.”

“When we’re talking about affordable housing we’re talking about our kids,” Barto said. “We’re talking about friends of mine whose kids want to come back and live in this city, work close to their parents.”

She and Blom expressed support for the current version of Newport Beach’s housing element, while Weber saw the challenges posed in implementing it as opportunities to “get creative” and “think outside the box.” Blom said he was enthusiastic about future development in the John Wayne Airport area.

“I kind of think of it as the Georgetown to our D.C. We can build more things over there. We can add a little bit of height, and it adds to the character and charm of who we are,” Blom said. “We have Newport Center as well. We’re gonna keep working on quality … it’s not about affordable, it’s about workforce [housing].”

Scarbrough said the city’s housing element “needs work,” while Herdman said, “We basically need to start all over with a whole new plan.” They both took issue with the difference between Newport Beach’s RHNA requirement and the number of units the city has decided to zone for. They said they want to explore ways to fund and support the development of more low and very-low income housing.

Economic development

Candidates were mostly optimistic about the way the city attracts and supports local businesses. Scarbrough said a significant amount of red tape still manages to slow progress and suggested appointing a “business liaison” to help guide people through paperwork.

Herdman called for the reimplementation of business improvement districts (BIDs), privately directed groups that are publicly sanctioned to coordinate supplementary services, activities and promotion of specific areas in a city. Blom was one of the council members who voted to rescind them and noted that funding for BIDs comes from an assessment paid by the local businesses they cover.

“Typically in a small business environment, we don’t say: ‘If only the government could help us more,’” Blom said. “Usually it’s ‘if only the government could stay out of our lives things would be a lot better,’ and that’s how we feel here.”

He went on to say that addressing adjacent issues like transportation would be the best way to promote business in Newport Beach. He suggested developing a trolley system to promote shopping and reduce parking congestion.

District-specific issues

Candidates were asked to choose specific topics affecting their respective districts that they would prioritize. Barto and Scarbrough of the second district both raised the issue of speeding and other hazards related to e-bikes, with the latter pointing out that the county, Costa Mesa and Manhattan Beach have recently begun regulating the widely used vehicles.

“I live at the corner of Clay and Tustin, and I can tell you that the education that’s happening is not enough,” Scarbrough said. “There are kids blowing through there without stopping, without looking every day.”

She also called for the development of a recreation center in Newport Heights, while Barto championed the preservation of Lower Castaways Park and the harbor.

In District 5, Blom reiterated his support for repurposing and investing in areas recently cleared of homeless encampments. He suggested creating a fire station at the Newport Beach Transit Center on Avocado Drive, near MacArthur Boulevard and San Joaquin Hills Road. He also called for the preservation of the Balboa Island Ferry.

Herdman said he could closely monitor the progress of the 25-year infrastructure plan on Balboa Island and work to ensure John Wayne Airport remains faithful to a settlement agreement curbing noise and the expansion of runways into the city.

Patricola expressed concern for the elevated risk of wildfire along Buck Gully in District 7 and said he’d like to ensure all residents have emergency plans in place. He also raised the issue of potential e-bike regulation. Weber said she would focus her efforts on public safety and support the police and fire departments.