THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:

Newport Beach is moving forward with what Mayor Ed Selich calls an “aggressive” schedule to finalize design plans for the next city hall.

The city hopes to appoint a committee to find an architect to design the building next month and award a contract to the winning architect by the end of the year.

Selich, who is part of the city’s building committee that will appoint the design committee, said he will look for architects with open minds.

“I would look for people who don’t have any kind of preconceived notions on what city hall should or not look like, people who are residents of the city who care about the city and care about the long-term interests of the city,” he said.

The Newport Beach City Council unanimously approved plans Tuesday night to confirm a 12.8-acre piece of city-owned land next to the library as the rightful spot for a new city hall and set up a design committee for the project after months of debate and a successful municipal ballot measure on the issue.

The city is looking for four licensed architects and one licensed landscape architect to oversee a design competition to design the new building. Members of the committee must be residents of Newport Beach and have at least five years of experience.

Ideally, the members will have background designing large-scale commercial or public facilities, according to a city staff report.

The architects will have to walk a fine line between aesthetic considerations, costs, the impact of City Hall on traffic in Newport Center and other concerns, said Councilman Keith Curry at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Curry has been outspoken in his opposition to building city hall on the site next to the library, but voted in favor of the project Tuesday in the spirit of “moving forward as a united council,” he said.

Voters approved the city hall location in the Feb. 5 election with the passage of Measure B, based on promises of minimal traffic impact, low cost and the preservation of part of the site as a park, Curry said.

“We need to seek to see these assertions are met as we go forward,” he said.

Applications are due at the Newport Beach City Clerk’s office by 5 p.m. March 4.

The city’s goal is to recommend committee members by the March 11 City Council meeting and award a contract to build the new city hall by Dec. 9.

More information about the City Hall Design Committee and the application form is available through the city’s website or by calling (949) 644-3005.

MOORLACH TO BLOCK ANNEXATION BID

Chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors John Moorlach said Wednesday he will not assist Santa Ana Country Club and a nearby neighborhood with its Newport Beach annexation bid because he believes Costa Mesa has a right to the land.

“I think we’ve looked at all the studies of the area and concurred that certain properties should be in Newport Beach and some should be in Costa Mesa,” Moorlach, a longtime Costa Mesa resident, said. “After reaching that conclusion, I haven’t changed my mind.”

Newport Beach needed to enter into a standard tax sharing agreement with the county for the country club and nearby residents to complete an application to the county agency that makes decisions on annexations.

The tax sharing agreement must go to a vote before the Orange County Board of Supervisors next, but Moorlach said his office won’t put the agreement on the supervisors’ agenda.

Another board member could ask for a vote on the issue, but “protocol dictates it would probably be best that it come from my office,” Moorlach said.

Newport Beach voted 6-1 to move forward with the application Tuesday, even though city staff recommended the city let the application expire rather than risk a land battle with Costa Mesa over who should get the property.

Santa Ana Country Club and the residential neighborhood gathered more than enough signatures last year to petition for annexation to the county agency that oversees the process. Costa Mesa has a sphere of influence over the two areas and tried to annex them in 2002, but faced widespread opposition from property owners who petitioned against the annexation.

JOHN CAMPBELL ON THE AIR

Rep. John Campbell may be used to fielding tough interviews, but the tables were turned yesterday when he took the reins of the Hugh Hewitt Show on behalf of its absent host.

Campbell, who was a guest on Hewitt’s first episode, said he was looking forward to hosting the show for a third time. He broadcast the show from the Heritage Foundation’s studio in Washington, D.C.

“I enjoy doing it, and it gives me an opportunity to give my opinions on things in a format that’s longer than a sound bite,” he said. “So, I am pretty excited for this.”

Campbell’s guests for the three-hour broadcast — aired locally on KTIE-AM (590) and KRLA-AM (870) — included Republicans Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, and Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona.

“I’ve managed to get a lot of guests — particularly because I’m doing it from DC,” he said. “I just kind of wanted to mix it up and have a diverse group of people to talk about a diverse group of issues.”

And talk they did — issues included conservative concerns about presidential contender John McCain and the state of the 1994 Republican Revolution. Those interested in hearing the discussion can find an electronic recording on Hewitt’s blog.

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

CHRIS CAESAR may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at [email protected]