What’s the most important issue facing the...

What’s the most important issue facing the city?

Shaping regional consensus in favor of the interests of Newport

Beach residents: to prevent JWA expansion, to reduce and improve

traffic circulation, to improve water quality and to prevent

intensification of development in residential areas.

What is your opinion of how the Greenlight law is affecting the

city, and what is your position on plans to build a hotel at

Marinapark?

The Greenlight law is a good thing for the city because it allows

voters to decide for themselves whether to ratify or reject the City

Council’s approval of major development projects. It gives voters the

last word, and I think that is a good thing. I oppose the Marinapark

hotel because it is proposed to be built on land that our city’s

general plan designates for parks. I disagree with the City Council’s

decision to place short-term benefits, which it hopes to gain from

the hotel, above the council’s long-term obligation as a trustee of

public assets to preserve and steward our parks for future residents.

Are city leaders doing a good job handling the budget and

pressures on it from the state?

Our city is lagging behind other regional cities in privatizing

unskilled, nonpublic safety services. Our city cannot afford to

ignore the savings from privatization. Our city must continue to use

its financial resources for the direct benefit of the residents,

maintaining our roads, our water and sewer systems, first-tier public

safety agencies -- not for construction of a huge new city hall

complex. The state is balancing its budget on the backs of cities,

and consequently cities are deprived of local revenues that should

rightfully support the city budget. The city must protest these cuts,

but no city alone can oppose the state’s grabbing of local revenues.

Our city leaders must join other cities and state firmly to our state

legislators this simple fact -- depriving cities of local revenues

inevitably reduces the cities’ ability to maintain infrastructure and

to provide adequate levels of public safety with difficult and

dangerous consequences.

How should the city handle possible expansion of John Wayne

Airport and St. Andrew’s Church?

Our city leaders must not declare the El Toro Airport dead -- not

yet -- and should continue to support the efforts of the Airport

Working Group and others dedicated to the proposition that an airport

at El Toro eliminates pressure to expand JWA. JWA expansion is a

regional issue, and a consensus of our neighboring cities is required

to develop solutions. We must articulate a vision, persuade our

neighbors to accept that vision in their own self-interest; we must

guide the process through active and patient leadership. The St.

Andrew’s Church expansion must be kept in scale to the surrounding

areas. The city should support a compromise that allows the church to

convert a portion of its existing square footage to a youth-oriented

use without increasing density on or off-site, and with adequate

provisions for on-site parking.