Mailbag: Council has rolled over for developers in the past

Re. “384-apartment mixed-use project near JWA is rejected by Newport council (July 27)”: I actually have sympathy for the developers of this project. I don’t think they were provided clear guidance for what is acceptable in the airport area. There isn’t a good area plan in place, and developers are left to guess as to “what will fly.”

Newport Beach staff apparently did not advise the developer well, so they thought they could get it through. Of course staff is also in the position of not having good guidance on what is acceptable.

The idea that they could buy their way out of the park requirement and also put in a gated and time limited little strip and call it public should never have seen the light of day. The traffic and parking impact in that specific area, also should be better considered.

The comment by Richard Zeilenga, their representative, was very telling. The unfortunate result of years of developer fees dulling concerns about projects has resulted in statements such as his, “They want to pretend it’s not, but it’s ‘Pay the money or you don’t get to play.’”

I don’t believe there is a quid pro quo, but I do believe the message over the years in Newport Beach is. “If we throw enough developer fees at a project, the council and public will roll,” and they/we have.

Dennis Baker
Corona del Mar

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Allow boardwalk to the Wedge

The Newport Beach City Council should not have approved a plan to allow the illegal beach encroachments in Peninsula Point to continue without a specific requirement to improve beach access.

In particular, if the encroachments onto public beach are to be allowed, the Balboa Boardwalk should be continued down to the Wedge. This is a long overdue extension. It doesn’t have to run directly in front of homes. But it should finally get extended.

Danny Sullivan
Newport Beach