Newport council to consider second anchorage area in Turning Basin
Sailors heading into Newport Beach this summer could soon have another temporary location to drop their boat’s anchor in the harbor.
The City Council on Tuesday will weigh a proposal made by the Harbor Commission to add an additional anchorage area in the Turning Basin, west of Lido Isle for the next 2 1/2 months, according to a city staff report.
Newport Harbor currently has one anchorage area between the eastern tip of Lido Isle and the west side of Bay Island. The area provides a free space for boaters who want to visit Newport Beach for no more than five days.
It’s also a place for boaters who come into the harbor seeking refuge from rough weather conditions, the staff report states.
Since there is only one anchorage area in the harbor, the space often becomes overcrowded with vessels during the busy summer boating season, according to city staff.
“The Harbor Commission feels that an additional anchorage area in the Turning Basin would augment the existing anchorage when demand is high, and would also allow boaters to experience another part of the harbor at anchor,” the staff report states.
The council also recently designated a portion of the Turning Basin for the use of water propelled jet packs, which drew criticism from neighbors who complained about the increase in noise near their homes.
If approved by the council, the anchorage area would take up about 5.5 acres in the Turning Basin. After the 2 1/2-month trial period, the anchorage area would be removed.
Several residents who live near the Turning Basin took issue with the possibility of increased noise from the boats during the Harbor Commission meeting in June.
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Gay rights leaders to attend meeting
Gay rights advocates and members of the LGBT community plan to address the City Council Tuesday night to express their opposition to Councilman Scott Peotter’s recent statements about gay marriage.
Kevin O’Grady, executive director of the LGBT Center of Orange County, said his organization has been calling and using social media to invite members of the gay community and those who support gay rights in Orange County to address the council during the public comment portion of the meeting.
“His statement really affected a lot of people,” O’Grady said. “He needs to know there are consequences to his hate speech.”
O’Grady said the organization has specifically asked Peotter’s constituents in Corona del Mar to attend the meeting.
“I think it’s important that he hears directly from the people he represents,” O’Grady said.
Peotter angered gay rights leaders this week after he circulated an email Monday that criticized same-sex marriage and the LGBT movement’s use of rainbow imagery.
The message sent to constituents took issue with the illumination of the White House in rainbow-colored hues after the June 26 Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay unions nationwide.
“I do find it interesting that the homosexual movement adopted the rainbow as their symbol, as it was God’s symbol that he wouldn’t destroy the world by flood again,” he wrote in the email, which was widely circulated Monday. “…maybe they are wishful thinking.”
Peotter said he’s not homophobic but believes the high court should not have interfered with marriage laws.
O’Grady said while Peotter has the right to express his opinion about same-sex marriage, he felt the councilman’s statements about the LGBT community using rainbow imagery were “extremely homophobic.”
City Hall issued a statement Tuesday distancing the municipality from Peotter’s views.
“The city welcomes and values its citizens, visitors and employees, irrespective of sexual orientation or marital status, and embraces Newport Beach’s place in a diverse and vibrant Southern California,” the statement reads.
The City Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. at 100 Civic Center Drive.