Commentary: It’s time for us to solve the peninsula’s problems

On March 10, the Newport Beach City Council will hold a study session to discuss nuisance and crime problems on the Balboa Peninsula associated with the concentration of liquor licenses there.

I asked for that study session, and I’d like to explain why I did and what I hope will come from it.

But first let me just say that I have no problem with social drinking. Believe me, I enjoy the “perfect” margarita and a couple glasses of wine with friends as much as anyone. But when a minority of imbibers goes overboard and ends up committing hundreds of destructive and illegal acts each year, that’s a legitimate cause for concern.

The Newport Beach Police Department patrol area, which includes the peninsula, is about 1.4 square miles, or 6% of the city’s total area. It has some 11,000 residents, about 13% of the city’s population.

There are 117 active retail Alcoholic Beverage Control licenses in this area — or one for every 95 residents. That’s twice as many licenses per person as the city has overall and nearly six times the rate for all of Orange County.

In addition:

• More than one-third of all arrests made in the city in 2014 were on the peninsula.

• One-third of all citations issued were issued on the peninsula.

• One-third of all arrests for driving under the influence were made on the peninsula.

• Two-thirds of all arrests for public drunkenness were on the peninsula.

• Two-thirds of all alcohol-related citations issued were on the peninsula.

The 40 violent crimes reported in the area in 2014 were nearly half of the total violent crimes reported in the city that year.

Clearly, the city’s police see a problem on the peninsula.

So do the residents.

In my campaign for City Council last year, and since becoming the council member for the district that includes the peninsula, I have talked with dozens of residents and business owners who have reported late-night noise and disruption, including public urination and defecation and the destruction of property.

Frankly, the residents, business owners and the police want solutions. And the rest of the city cares too, because the high cost to taxpayers (in the tens of millions of dollars annually) of police manpower to deal with these crimes is controllable.

So I asked for the study session so the entire council could take a look at this situation and hear ideas from the police, the city staff and the public on ways to reduce the negative effects associated with the concentration of liquor-selling establishments on the peninsula.

I ran for council on a platform that included government transparency and listening to the people of the city. I believe Newport Beach has a tremendous resource in the experience and wisdom of its residents, and I want to include their voices in finding long-term solutions to these problems.

In advance of the study session, I hosted a town hall meeting Feb. 17 on the peninsula, drawing upward of 200 people.

Several options have been proposed. One is to find a way to apply the current rules and codes governing alcohol selling to older clubs and bars that were “grandfathered” under the new regulations, perhaps by the use of a zoning overlay or similar planning mechanism.

Another proposal is to have additional law enforcement on the streets from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Another is a voluntary cooperative effort where new bars and older bars work together to implement best practices to better control the crowds and the 2 a.m. deluge of people exiting bars.

(I should note that neither city staff nor anyone on the council has proposed shutting down the city at 11 p.m.)

I believe other possible approaches not yet identified will come from public discussions. This is the purpose of the study session on March 10.

It will begin at 4 p.m. in the council chambers, 100 Civic Center Drive.

DIANE DIXON is mayor pro tem of Newport Beach.