City Council - Regular Meeting

2026 joint meeting of the City Council and Finance Committee. We'll start with the Special Joint Finance Committee and City Council meeting.

Item number one review of the proposed fiscal year 2026-27 operating budget.

Mr. Jurgis, do you have a report?

I do. Madam Mayor, city council members, good afternoon. So the city charter requires me to provide the city council with a budget annually. We begin this process in early December, and it takes us about the five, six months to work through the budget issues. We have a happy report. We have a balanced budget, but it is nuanced. Our staff has done an amazing job to get this ready for the presentation for today. I'm going to go ahead and turn it over to our Administrative Services Director, Jason Aleman, and our new Deputy Director, Peter Kemp. All right, Jason. Thank you.

Thank you, Simone. Good afternoon, Mayor and members of the City Council. As Simone mentioned, I am joined by Peter Kemp, our new Deputy Finance Director. This presentation will focus primarily on the operating budget since Public Works is providing a separate presentation tonight on the proposed capital improvement program. The budget continues to provide funding for the budget priorities listed on this slide. This year's budget also has an additional focus on the continued pay down of the pension liability, ensuring proper funding for long-term capital needs, and addressing council priorities that were identified at the planning session in January. Newport Beach has a comprehensive budget review process. Which provides multiple opportunities for public comment, including today's review of the operating budget. I also want to point out that the budget that is presented to you today has been reviewed by the Finance Committee over the past several months, which began with an update to the long range financial forecast, a 20 year planning tool which projects the city will be on solid financial footing for the years to come. The proposed citywide budget, including all funds, shows an operating budget that totals $475.5 million. This represents a 3% increase over the prior year's adopted operating budget. Following this presentation, Dave Webb will provide a detailed review of the capital improvement program. Within the proposed budget, $47.8 million in new CIP funding has been incorporated to support upcoming capital projects. In addition, $47.3 million in CIP funding that's budgeted in the current fiscal year is expected to be carried over into the next fiscal year as projects continue to cross multiple fiscal years. As a result, the total proposed CIP funding amounts to 95 million, with roughly half of the funding consisting of carryover appropriations from the current year. Tonight's presentation primarily focuses on the general fund which is our primary operating fund and has a budget that amounts to 348 million. Other major funds include the Thailand sign and the water and wastewater enterprise funds these funds are balanced. I want to point out that the water fund contemplates a 10 million dollar loan from the Orange County water district which will be brought forward to the city council within the next few weeks. About half of our general fund revenue comes from property tax revenue. And then our second and third largest sources of revenue include sales tax and transient occupancy tax revenue. These three sources of revenue make up about 75% of our revenue with the balance coming from charges for services, property income, and so on. Revenues are projected to be 17 million or 5.2% higher than the current year's adopted budget. Property tax revenue is by far the largest driver, which is projected to be 10.7 million higher over the prior year's adopted budget, followed by sales tax revenue, which is projected to be up 2.4 million. The city received 17% of the 1% general property tax levy, which is the third highest city share in Orange County. The city also has the 2nd largest assessed valuation orange County just behind Irvine and ahead of Anaheim to help put that in perspective the median sales price for a single family detached home in Newport Beach is now approximately 5 million. The city strong assessed values and relatively large share of the 1% property tax continue to be important factors supporting the city's long-term fiscal sustainability. This chart shows property tax revenue trends over the last 11 years, including both historical data and projections. As shown, property tax revenue has grown steadily over the past decade with an average growth rate of about 6%. We're projecting continued growth into next year consistent with historical trends. This chart shows sales tax trends over an 11-year period. Sales tax revenues have experienced some variability over time but have generally trended upward. Roughly half of our sales tax revenue comes from autos and transportation and restaurants and hotels. These two categories are projected to be up 2% to 3% next year. The 6.2% increase in 25-26 is due in part to the reopening of a luxury auto dealership on PCH. At this point, I'm going to turn it over to Peter Kemp to talk about expenditures.

Thank you, Jason. And good afternoon, honorable mayor, members of the city council. We will now take a look at planned general fund expenditures for fiscal year 2026-27. The total proposed general fund operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year is approximately $348.4 million. This is an increase of $26.7 million or about 8.4% from the current fiscal year's adopted budget. Included in this proposed budget and consistent with city council direction is a $40 million allocation towards the city's unfunded pension liability. Additionally staff has proposed approximately 1.5 million dollars in program enhancements, which we will dive into a little bit later in the presentation The overall increase to the budget when compared to the current year's adopted budget can be broken down into several categories as seen on this slide the large majority of the increase approximately nineteen point six million dollars can be attributed to scheduled personnel cost increases and Internal service charges account for $1.7 million of the increase, while operating and capital transfers account for another $1.6 million in adjustments. Approximately $1.5 million in increases are related to the recent City Council approved Waste Infrastructure System Enterprise Agreement with the County of Orange, otherwise known as the Wise County Landfill Agreement. General fund program enhancements account for about $1.5 million of the increase, and we'll discuss those enhancements in a few moments. Finally, other cost increases, such as planned contractual increases, increase the budget by about $900,000. Here we have the general fund expenditures broken down by department. Most of the increases shown here are the result of planned personnel cost increases. One item to note is the 36.7% increase in the city attorney's office when compared to the current year's adopted budget. THIS INCREASE IS A RESULT OF ORGANIZATIONAL SHIFTS THAT OCCURRED EARLIER THIS FISCAL YEAR AS NOTED ON THE SLIDE IN DECEMBER THE FINANCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENTS WERE CONSOLIDATED INTO THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DEPARTMENT AS PART OF THIS REORGANIZATION EFFORT SEVERAL STAFF WERE REASSIGNED FROM HUMAN RESOURCES TO THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE General fund transfers out for fiscal year 2027, shown on this slide, are consistent with the current year's adopted budget, with proposed amounts up a modest 3.6%. These amounts include continuation of the $6 million increase in transfers from the general fund to the facility financing plan fund. Additionally, an increase of 11.5% in transfers to the Tidelands operating fund is due to rising maintenance and CIP costs. We'll now take a look at program enhancements and some staffing changes. The next few slides summarize the list of enhancements proposed by staff. We won't discuss all of them, but I will highlight a few of the more notable requests in the following slides. On this slide on this slide here, you'll see the fire department has requested funding to add a 4th firefighter paramedic to a ladder truck that currently provides basic life support services. Adding a 4th paramedic would enable the truck to provide advanced life support capabilities consistent with the city's other ladder trucks. To keep pace with changing reading habits, the library is requesting funding to support additional downloadable materials. This will significantly expand the library's online collection of e-books, audio books, and periodicals. The municipal operations department is requesting funds for equipment purchases and an enhanced street striping budget to support ongoing roadway maintenance. The police department has requested funding for two additional police officers, one assigned to Fashion Island and one assigned to Corona Del Mar. Recreation and Senior Services has requested additional funding for the animal shelter to support expanded hours and services. And finally under the utilities department or highlight requests for new 2027 rate studies for both the city's sewer and water systems to ensure proper long-term funding for enterprise operations and critical infrastructure. All proposed enhancements total 3.5 million dollars or general fund enhancements as noted earlier are just under 1.6 million dollars. moving on to the details of the proposed staffing enhancements these next two slides outline modifications by both fund and department while this list includes several reclassifications and internal departmental transfers i want to highlight the lines representing actual net full-time position increases as mentioned earlier the fire department is requesting one additional firefighter paramedic the police department is requesting two additional police officers and Public Works has requested the addition of one associate civil engineer. Remaining lines you see here, such as moving the emergency coordinator position from police to fire or transferring park patrol into the police department, these are organizational realignments that have no net impact on overall headcount. Under the remaining general fund requests, Recreation and Senior Services is requesting the addition of one full-time recreation coordinator alongside part-time increases for the assistant recreation coordinator and senior recreation leader positions. These additions bring the total general fund staffing enhancement requests to an increase of 3.0 full-time and 2.8 part-time positions. looking at other funds in the tidelands fund the harbor department is requesting the addition of one full-time lead harbor safety officer as well as part-time increases for a harbor safety officer and a management analyst combined across all funds the total proposed staffing enhancements across the city equal an increase of 4.0 full-time and 4.35 part-time full-time equivalents

And Madam Mayor, if I just make one correction on the list prior page, we proposed to transfer the police emergency coordinator from the police department to the fire department. We're no longer proposing that.

Thank you.

This chart shows the total personnel over the years. The darker color on the top of the columns identifies part-time positions while the light blue color represents full-time positions. If approved, the fiscal year 2027 budget will add approximately eight full-time equivalent positions, growing the number of total positions in the city to 936. I'll now turn the presentation back over to Jason to discuss pension liabilities and reserves.

Before discussing the city's pension pay down strategy and the budget allocation included in the proposed budget, I wanted to take a moment to provide the council with an update on the city's pension funded status and remind everyone of the significant progress that has been made over the past 16 years. As you know, unfunded pension obligations remains one of the largest long-term liabilities facing public agencies throughout California, including Newport beach managing that liability responsibly has been a major financial priority for the city council for many years. This chart illustrates both CalPERS investment performance and the city's pension funded status over the past 19 years. The pension liability was 92% funded in 2007, but that dropped to 57% in 2009 following the stock market crash during the Great Recession. The blue line reflects CalPERS investment returns, while the yellow line represents the assumed rate of return. When CalPERS underperforms, it has a direct impact on the city's pension funded status. So for example, CalPERS reported an investment loss of 24% in 2009, which contributed to the city's funded status declining to 57%. The city has made significant progress over the past several years because the City Council has remained committed to an aggressive pension pay down strategy. The city is currently 82% funded and assuming CalPERS earns an average annual return of 6.8%, we project the funded status will increase to 90% within three years and will be fully funded by 2033. The proposed budget includes a $40 million in funding for the baseline funding dedicated to paying down the city's unfunded pension liability. In addition, staff recommends an extra $5 million supplemental appropriation at fiscal year end. I also want to remind the council that the city established a section 115 pension trust in March of this year. which was initially funded with a $5 million contribution using surplus funds from the city's OPEB trust. The trust has performed well thus far and is currently up approximately 8%. I'll provide the council with future updates as additional investment performance data becomes available for review and evaluation.

Thank you for the thorough presentation and welcome, Peter. Great first presentation to us. Are there any questions up here? None. Any questions or comments from finance committee members? Okay. Councilmember Grant.

Just that last comment that you made, that's remarkable that we've achieved 8% increase in that fund. Do we know how that compares to CalPERS? Is it more or less or on the same?

It's difficult. CalPERS doesn't report on a monthly basis. And in fact, we entered the market in the middle of March. And so, you know, we would almost need daily data to be able to compare ourselves to CalPERS. But we think we're doing quite well. Obviously, we're up 8%. We got into the market. We weren't trying to time the market. It just took some time to get the account open.

OK. SO IN THE FUTURE WE'LL HAVE THAT SORT OF INFORMATION.

WE'LL HAVE BETTER DATA ON A FISCAL YEAR END BASIS. GREAT. THANK YOU.

Yeah, so on the staff increases, the big takeaways are add fire paramedic one, add two police officers two, that gives you three, and then one lead safety harbor officer that's coming out of Tidelands for a total of four, and then 1.5 part-time, and then for Tidelands as well on the harbor safety officer, and then additional in parks and recreation, and that's for staffing up on the new animal shelter, is that correct? That is correct.

Okay. Okay.

Yeah, I think that shows a commitment to public safety and appreciate that. And I think that's a good, good path forward for us. Um, as far as the employees that are transferring from, from park control, which is, um, recreation and senior services to PD, and then the folks, uh, switching over in that is there a changeable in their bargaining unit or are they staying, um, at, Proftech or wherever they might be, are they going over to PD on that?

Not sure. Do you know? I think they're staying within the current bargaining group, but I'd have to look into that.

We haven't had a chance to kind of get that answer.

That's more on the employees themselves, you know, in that negotiation. If you're in Park Patrol, which is part of a different department, now you're going over to PD. That's kind of on you to decide, or do you go to your bargaining unit and ask for support or...?

We typically work with the bargaining groups to get that support of if they're going to move from the bargaining group standpoint. That's something that we can come back to you with Councilmember Wiegand. We just don't have those.

Yeah, I don't think it holds up the budget. I think, again, it's probably on that individual employee that's moving around. But I think these changes are good. This was something that we rolled out. In our initial year discussion that we were looking to change things up at the animal shelter and this request from PD and from fire. So I'm fully on board. I don't want to hold that up. I just want to make sure that those employees are being taken care of because that's a change that council's coming up with versus what affects their employment.

They definitely are. We do work with our human resources team to kind of work through all the details and the nuances. We just don't have that exact answer right now. Okay, perfect. Thank you.

Council Member Stapleton.

Yeah, just a couple observations. I've just 10 years on this committee and just kudos to Mr. Jurgis for your first budget. Well done. And to our staff, Jason and your team, world class again. And to our committee members, three out of the four here, I know Mr. Colopy is traveling but wishes he could be here. But thank you to all of you for your hard work in putting this together, another well-balanced budget with the surplus. I think back to when I first got on the committee, it's remarkable to see our property taxes now up to $171 million. I think, Jason, you had mentioned to me that the median home price has now cleared over $5 million for the first time in March. We're a city of riches, no doubt, but that doesn't happen by accident. It's because of strong leadership and good decisions by this council and previous councils, for sure. But it's crazy to think 10 years ago when I got on this committee, we were at $105 million in property taxes. So that's a lot of growth. in the last 10 years um i also love that there's nobody here really is anyone here specifically for this item not one person it's one per well only this item All right. Maybe one person is here. We're going to approve maybe a half a billion dollar budget going forward. And I take a lot of pride in that because that means we're doing something right. And as a AAA rated city, there's not many of them. The second we do something wrong, this chamber would be full of a lot of people. I do wish there were more people actively engaged in this, but that's because I'm a nerd when it comes to finances. But I do love what the city is doing and continues to do. YOU LOOK NO FURTHER THAN THE PENSION LIABILITY. 82% FUNDED. IT'S NOT UNFATHOMABLE TO THINK IN THE NEXT SIX TO SEVEN YEARS THAT'S GOING TO BE CLOSE TO 100%. REMARKABLE JOB TO THE ENTIRE TEAM, TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS. THANK YOU AND JOB WELL DONE.

Yes, two things. One, I was noticing that we, and I heard about this at the Harbor Foundation meeting, that we have an increase for removals from the harbor. Is that something that we anticipate continuing to increase? It sounds like a lot of the Boats that are maybe do need to be hauled away end up in our harbor and they kind of bounce around other harbors and then end up in ours. So do we anticipate that that line item will it's going to move up to that $150,000 or is this something that we foresee increasing every year?

I'd probably defer to Harbor Master Paul Blank. I'm not sure if he's here and available.

Thanks for taking a look at the budget in detail. That $150,000 is set aside, or I'm sorry, the ask is for this coming fiscal year. We continue to work with the Department of Buddingham Waterways to backfill the funding that was reduced. We continue to perform very, very well in their eyes. We're one of only three institutions that got the full funding for the current cycle. and we're the only one in Southern California to get that. So we will continue to work with them. As more funding becomes available through the state, we'll gladly make use of it. I can't tell you what that funding is going to be like. I expect that this $150,000 allocation for next fiscal year is likely to continue into future fiscal years. I don't anticipate asking for a whole lot more than that.

Thank you. And just a comment that I'm very happy to see the Pacific Symphony coming back for another year. Thank you very much.

Councilmember Grant. Just another quick question. I guess Councilmember Weigand made me think about this. I do know that there's two animal shelter PD employees that are now going to be leaving PD and going to recreation and senior services. So I don't know, did we accommodate that in the budget that we would be reducing the PD by two staff members or are we just reallocating that? I didn't think about it when I was looking at the budget. So it's probably there. I just didn't recognize it.

That transfer is reflected in the current budget. Okay.

Thank you.

I want to echo Councilmember Stapleton's comments. I appreciate all of the work that has been put into this budget. It certainly deserves a moment to acknowledge the solid ground that we're on due to prudent planning and allocation. Since I am not on the Finance Committee, I'm coming into this as the public does. One thing that's not here that I'd like to add is $35,000 for 22 new rifles for SWAT. I appreciate the Police Foundation stepped up to fund the purchase of the rifles for the rest of the department, but I think it's our responsibility to take care of this, and SWAT certainly does use their rifles more often. With that, I will open it up to public comments.

Mayor Kleinman, members of the council, my name is Jim Mosher. Customarily, when the budget comes back for approval in June, it is accompanied by a list of proposed budget revisions. And this is the occasion for doing that. And I'm not sure if it's clear to the public if those are revisions versus what the finance committee saw at their meeting last week. And we've heard changes. I think what we've heard today are changes of today's budget relative to the budget from last year. And I believe Mayor Kleinman's revision is the only one that we've heard. So I'm curious if that is correct or if we'll be surprised to see more revisions when it comes back. I also mentioned that although you are approving a budget, the council policy that's in the budget says the city manager is authorized to increase any line item by $10,000. Apparently without your approval. I don't know if we know how many line items there are. If there were 1,000 and you multiplied that by $10,000 each, that would be a lot of money by which it could change. In addition to that policy, I noticed there is another policy called F28 that says in advance of the budget process, that would have been last winter, that the staff shall prepare an update to the facility's financial planning tool and the Harbor and Beaches Capital financial plan for review, modification, and approval by the city council, which is to guide the budget process. My memory is often defective. I don't remember the council doing that. I think the, as I said in the past, I think there must be more to the budget than the public sees printed out in this book. I assume there's a database that connects revenue to expenses. Because when I look through the revenue section, it has numbers that don't correlate with the expense section. Each expense item has a number by it. And you go further in the departments, and it shows the itemization of that. The revenues are hard to connect to that. So if I, as a member of the public, wanted to know how much we're subsidizing some program we support, It's difficult for me to tell and I get very strange results. In both sections are something called youth sports and the budget is anticipating revenue of $80,000 and it's showing expenses for that program of only $20,000. We're taking in much more than we expect to spend on it. And the actual from 2025, the most recent we have, we took in 98,000 of revenue and spent only less than 13,000. We would be violating Proposition 218, I believe, if we were charging more than it cost us to do that. So I don't know. There's many other mysteries in the budget and I can't explain them in the three minutes.

So thank you. Thank you. Any other comments from the public on this item?

Good afternoon. My name is Laura Curran. I sent some slides in related to this. First of all, we want to thank the staff for reviewing the budget. I would say there's actually more transparency online items for program enhancements than in the past, so I appreciate that. Just to What I want to clarify for the public is this is the budget as it currently stands, but many of these items will continue to come up as specific items throughout the year. So if you can go to the next slide, there's a 1.5 million total in program enhancements. If you look at these items, some of these are staffing, such as adding a firefighter paramedic, which is $158,000. But there's also the equipment maintenance fund, $355,000. You will probably see over the years, over the next year, requests to purchase items. So if you have questions, It's a good opportunity for you to look at the agenda for this public, call your council member, write them, or ask the staff what's involved. So this is a look forward, but the money isn't spent yet. I think it's important to point that out. Also, the additional PPE, personal protective equipment, i'm assuming this is for city staff i hope it also points to an increase in cert training and in additional support for cert go to the next page we talked about harbor funding you see this there's the park operating budget these things will come forward in from in other venues coastal commission or harbor commission meetings if you're interested in these topics go to those meetings Ask your council member. Ask the staff and learn more about them. You'll often be surprised to understand how well run these programs are and how valuable the services are. Next page. So again, look through the budget. Look for these items as they come up. A couple of other comments. In the program budget, I would like to see on the staffing the impact on locations as we add or reduce staff because we're looking at adding a police station. If you add 10 people, do you need more police station space? If you move park staff, are they going to be in another location and they need another space? Those are just general budget questions. I did appreciate the question on bargaining units because that one popped up to me. As you're adding staff, if you move someone from an administrative unit to the police, does that change their pension plan? And finally, on the unfunded pension liability, I'm glad to see the continued progress and the wonkiness pays off here when we do have no longer, when we no longer have an unfunded pension liability. So I appreciate the Finance Committee working on that. I'd also like us to see in the Finance Committee having a policy on future early retirement policies. Last year we had a $500,000 early retirement payout. And is that going to be part of our budget policy going forward? Will those types of items need to be reviewed before approval? And will we have a policy on searches at public searches for key positions when they are brought forward? So there's a lot of good work here. One thing I noticed is that it's a 1.5 million in program enhancements, which is similar to the facilities budget increase and also similar to the police study station for Civic Center Park at $1.5 million. So thank you for your work.

OK, we'll now bring it back up here. Any additional comments? Seeing none, staff, do you need further direction from us?

No, I think we're good. We have everybody's comments and feedback. Thank you.

Fantastic. Madam Clerk, please read the notice regarding public comments on non-agenda items.

All the comments invited on non agenda items generally considered to be within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council and finance committee speakers must limit comments to 3 minutes before speaking we invite but do not require you to state your name for the record the City Council finance committee has a discretion to extend the short in the speakers time limit on non agenda items providing the time limit adjustment is applied equally to all speakers.

We'll now proceed with public comments.

Good evening, Mayor and council members. My name is Nancy Lyons, and I'm a resident of Newport Beach. Thank you for the opportunity to briefly share the impact of Orange County United Way right here in our community of Newport Beach. Orange County United Way works to improve the lives and strengthen our community by focusing on education, financial stability, health, and housing. These are the building blocks of a good quality of life. Operated by Orange County United Way, 2110C is our county's free 24-7 information and referral line. We refer by call, by text, or by web, and connect residents to critical services including housing support, food assistance, utility help, healthcare access, and much more. With changes to Medi-Cal and CalFresh this year, many families have questions about their eligibility or renewal. and 2-1-1 remains a trusted resource to help residents navigate those changes and connect them to the right services quickly and confidently. Last year, in Newport Beach alone, 1,474 Newport Beach residents reached out to OC-211. These are working families, seniors, and neighbors who may not always know where to turn, and 2-1-1 helps connect them to the support they need. We encourage everyone to help spread the word about 2-1-1 and one simple way is by sharing 2-1-1 resource cards and we can get each of you a stack of these that if you're out and about and somebody asks you for help that you can't immediately provide, you can hand them one of these and it gives them some information and also contact information. I keep some in my car and you may want to do that. In addition, Orange County United Way recently completed another successful OC free tax prep session, season, excuse me, helping families file for taxes for free and claim valuable tax credits. This year's figures aren't in yet, but last year the program generated $26.8 million, serving more than 13,700 Orange County residents. So to learn more or to request 211 resource cards or to get involved, please visit unitedwayoc.org. Thank you for your time and for supporting a stronger Orange County.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good afternoon. My name is Laura Curran. So following up on the excellent services provided by 211, I just want to remind everyone today that the Oasis magazine came today. And I actually went over to visit an aunt and uncle in Costa Mesa. this morning and they were reading a magazine because they want to go to the Johnny Cash concert. Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. So this is one of the many excellent events that Oasis organizes. They were also talking about joining the Oasis Sailing Club because for $70 a month you can join the Sailing Club and there was this long conversation about how wonderful the boats are and having gone to the season opening, I can agree with that. So if you're not familiar with OASIS and you're dealing with issues that 211 would need help with, especially as a senior, you can go to them as well. And then I thought there was a really interesting presentation coming up on June 24th. given that we're discussing where our police station should go and the history of our parks. It's called History Speaks, True Stories of Newport Beach on June 24th. And it says, imagine big projects in Newport's past that would have changed the city and how it would have looked for decades if they had been built, such as the freeway on PCH, such as a hotel resort with a massive sailing lagoon stretching from Newport Beach to Balboa Pier. a second man-made water break water harbor eliminating most of newport newport beaches west facing beaches or a water themed amusement park that would have rivaled disneyland at the newport dunes so we have a long history of thinking big on projects in newport but clearly the public spoke out with many of these projects with maintaining the natural resources maintaining the beaches maintaining the public spaces And, you know, it's important to remember history because I'll be honest, I grew up in Orange County. I had no idea that there was a plan to put a freeway on PCH or that our current park would have been the off on off ramp location for that. But meeting the public, coming out and hearing these stories. helps you understand how important it is to continue to speak up for our public and for our natural spaces. So I encourage you to go to the event on June 24th. Also, if you have ever been to a Laird Hayes and Tom Johnson's tackling sports event, have any of you had the opportunity to go? Last week, he had a young man from the city of Newport who was on Shark Tank showing his baseball glove and wraparound together. So there are many things you can see at Oasis. It's not only for the seniors, but it is a resource for the whole community. And I encourage you all to look in your mail for the magazine, pick it up, and you'll find something fun. And you can always go to the wine tasting next month and find out for yourself. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other speakers?

Good evening. Richard Moriarty. I'm the owner of Newport Beach Vineyards and Winery at 2128 Mesa Drive. I'm speaking, I think, regarding your item number 12, and this is based upon the new Del High Channel improvement project. This was proposed to the residents of Santa Ana Heights by Katrina Foley in June of 2023. It's a 10-acre, $30 million improvement project proposed by her, there's actually a saltwater and freshwater marsh, a habitat for mosquitoes at a cost of $3 million an acre. Back Bay Conservancy is building a 14-acre habitat at Big Canyon for $450,000 an acre, so Katrina's project is grossly overpriced. Also creates a habitat for two new invasive species of mosquitoes that are not addressed in her 1994 environmental impact report. She's been trying to force this impact report fraudulently by saying there's, quote, no new information in the last 32 years. And one of the favorite comments of Democrats is coastal warming and climate change. And this doesn't address these new species of mosquitoes that spread dengue fever, Zika, and West Nile disease, all new things. There's also seven further items that make her environmental impact import invalid. I have forwarded my findings. to the council uh last week I'm not sure you all had a chance to read it's almost 20 pages of documentation of the mosquitoes and other other elements of her environmental impact report that are they're basically deceitful and she's already awarded an 800 000 contract in 2024 towards this project without a current environmental impact report I met with the agricultural commissioner in January and there was several items like um Aside from mosquitoes from my event center, which would put my event center out of business, I've been there for 28 years, and my winery is also jeopardized by the Pierce's disease, which is spread by the glassy-winged sharpshooter grasshopper, which is a habitat in a riparian environment, which was part of her project. So all this is contrary to what I'm trying to propose, because she had no plan B. At the time I asked for her plan B, there was nothing. She was trying to stuff this down our throat. I believe part of it is to build a bridge with her name on it, which I've named Foley's Folly in her name. But I'm proposing a botanical garden as a habitat for birds, owls, raptors, eagles, et cetera, ospreys, to offset the tree loss that we're going to experience for your new workforce housing and the proposed surf parks. We're losing trees for that, and Coastal Commission is basically projecting all of our parks to be sage and scrub brush, but a habitat for birds. So I'm trying to project a botanical garden. I've created a 501 charity for this purpose. I'm donating my property to it, which is a botanical garden. To that end, I'm hoping the council will consider my plan. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other speakers? Okay, we will now adjourn the special joint meeting of the City Council and Finance Committee. I'll now call to order the regular meeting of the City Council. Madam Clerk, roll call, please.

All council members present.

Now is the time for the invocation and pledge. Do we have Sadie Colomber from Harper Christian Church? Okay, Council Member Bartow, if you would lead us in invocation and Council Member Stapleton in the pledge. Thank you.

Please bow your heads. We ask for the wisdom to lead, to listen to our constituents, to be humble in our judgment, to do what is fair and right. We are grateful and thankful for those who sent us here, and we are grateful for this beautiful city. We ask blessings on all of the residents, volunteers, community members, staff, and our city council to do what is best and prudent for this city. Amen.

Would you please join me as we salute the greatest symbol of freedom?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible,

We'll now move to study session proposed fiscal year 2026-2027 through 2031-2032 capital improvement program.

Yes, good afternoon, Mayor, Council Members, Dave Webb, Public Works Director, and with me is Jim Houlihan, our Deputy Director and City Engineer.

Just one quick note. If I could have Council Members announce any conflicts they have regarding this item.

Happy to start.

I'll start at the end. Council Member Weigand.

I WILL ON CLOSED SESSION BUT NOT ON THIS.

COUNCILMEMBER BARTO? NONE. COUNCILMEMBER GRANT? NONE. COUNCILMEMBER WEBER?

NONE.

COUNCILMEMBER STAPLETON?

YEAH, MCCARTHUR BOULEVARD PAVEMENT REHABILITATION AND BURCH STREET PAVEMENT REHABILITATION, BRISTOL TO JANBRE BECAUSE REAL PROPERTY INTEREST IN 4141-10 MCCARTHUR AND THEN THE BALBOA YACHT BASIN DOC REPLACEMENT BECAUSE THE SOURCE OF INCOME WITH CLIENT INTEREST IN ADJACENT PROPERTY. THE VESSEL SEWAGE PUMP OUT REPLACEMENT, CLIENT INTEREST IN ADJACENT PROPERTY AND THEN THE OIL WELL REHABILITATION, OIL WELLS 3, 12, 14 AND 15 DUE TO REAL PROPERTY, PERSONAL RESIDENCY.

MAYOR PACHAMBLO.

THANK YOU. I HAVE BALBOA ISLAND CONCRETE ROAD AND ALLEY IMPROVEMENTS. I HAVE BALBOA ISLAND DRAINAGE MASTER PLAN AND PUMP STATIONS. Bible and Street and drainage improvements Bible Island boardwalk and perimeter drainage and Bible Island seawall to real property interest at 2 to 4 marine in addition to the Alito pavement rehabilitation in Newport Boulevard to long and the Alito and the airport to intersection improvements to the real property interest at 4.17 and 5.30.

And for me the landscape enhancement program East Coast Highway beautification in Bayview Heights Trail based on my personal interest in my personal home rather. Council members will leave the room for any discussion regarding a matter where they have a conflict. I'll turn it back over to you Mr. Webb.

Thank you. So if you have you been on this journey with us since basically December and we started our journey for the public on our capital improvement program back with a planning session in January this year, another session with council in March where we had a public session on our capital improvement program. And tonight we want to bring forth and discuss the draft, which has been available capital improvement plan. This is a seven-year plan for the city that plans our capital improvements. We look out seven years, but we're funding this next year only, and we have the funding for the future years proposed. So we're going to go through that tonight. There's various items to kind of finalize that, and if we take any questions or council makes any adjustments in this next act, we'll then go to our first meeting in June for final adoption of this plan. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Jim Houlihan to go through the various components, and then we'll open up for questions.

I will jump right in. So beginning with the capital improvement program basically it sets our priorities, appropriates funds. It's our basis for project planning and identifying potential conflicts. It helps us develop and construct identified public improvements, addresses the significant maintenance projects, and helps us respond to changing priorities and conditions throughout the city.

There we go.

So to recap, this current year that we're in, by the end of this fiscal year, we'll have completed 36 projects, a total value of almost $60 million. We also have another 39 projects in design and construction, and they're valued at about $75 million. So combined, about $135 million worth of $135 million of projects. Key ones here, and these have been encumbered, approved by council for moving forward with construction. The Fire Station 1 Balboa Library, we just started and it's fenced and ready to go, doing abatement on that project. MacArthur Boulevard, we did award the bid tonight. Yeah, we're awarding the bid tonight. It's going before you for award. And we'll be starting that early this summer. So those are two large projects that we're excited. Some other large ones listed there as well. And then a complete list of those projects to be completed this year. Some of the highlights are the dredging of the Balboa Yacht Basin. The Canyon restoration will be completing may roll a little bit into the next year but generally completed all the grading and the planting is occurring now. The 3 big roadways we rehabilitated Bristol North spyglass Hill and on Carmen and then the library lecture Hall which will be wrapping up and we'll have grand opening right in the beginning of jet joy. So for next year, this coming fiscal year, we have 69 items that are projects, programs, and other expenses. $95 million total, 47.8 in new funding, and 47.3 in rebudget. A couple of those rebudgets that have been moving forward in design include the Balboa Yacht Basin dock replacement. That project is moving forward. It's in coastal, will be coming back, start construction probably in spring of next year. That's the beginning. Old Newport. West Coast Highway. We're working with final agreements with the property owners and we'll be working with Caltrans following that and then 15th Street restroom. We're in coastal with that and as soon as next spring, maybe fall of 27 will be starting that project. This is a summary of the various categories of our CIP. There's eight categories. The biggest three being streets and drainage, parks, harbors, and beaches, and water. Those combined for over 80% of our budget. And we have some significant projects in each of those categories. And also the the proposed budget could be found on our city website under the public works section. So you want to see the detail it's found there. So each category, I'm going to run through each category, just touch on a project or two. As I mentioned, 15th Street Restroom, it's with Coastal Commission, and we're looking to start likely, like I said, early as spring, maybe in the fall of next year, depending on how it works with the Coastal Commission. additional, uh, the police station. Uh, we mentioned that earlier. Um, we, uh, we're working on advisory committee, um, being established soon in the next couple of meetings. Um, and then staff is working on obtaining consultants for the design as well as environmental services.

And Jim, if I could just note on the police station, you'll find it in your draft program. It's shown as a re-budget currently. We thought we might have put some money in the budget when this was prepared in March. Remember our March 10th meeting with council, we talked about putting some money in to look at additional studies, environmental work on the adjacent property. So what we'll do in this document, seeing we haven't approved anything yet and have appropriate, it'll probably move to a new number for the coming up year. New funding. New funding.

Under the street and drainage category, about $34.5 million there. Here listed, the Coronado-Mar Street and traffic improvements. We're looking at improving through the corridor some of the flow, the traffic flow. One of the items is the pedestrian crossing at Orchid. We're going to be looking at enhancing that crosswalk safety across that crosswalk there. MacArthur where there's a free right headed up MacArthur off of Coast Highway. We're looking to slow traffic around that corner and change that radius and then there's a couple other locations along there where we're looking to enhance some of the pedestrian flow as well through there. We're doing the concrete replacement program in the Newport Coast, North Crona Del Mar and Fashion Island, along with pavement rehab and slurry. So that's the area we'll be focused on next year. We'll start the design of the rehabilitation of East Bluff Drive, and we'll be working on that to go to construction in the fall of 2027. Additional projects will be starting the San Miguel Drive project construction in fall of this year. And then via Lido, the pavement rehab there along with the intersection at via Lido Village and Lido Plaza. We'll be working on that intersection whether it's we're definitely enhancing the pedestrian crossing but maybe a little bit more enhancement. We're looking at some options there to help with congestion through that intersection. And transportation, about $3.4 million. The big item there is the Bubble Island CDM trolley. We've ordered those trolleys in December of last year, and they're due to be received, six new ones, next spring. hopefully early spring, and ready for a new area to be covered by the trolley system. We're excited about that. Just this last weekend, the trolley system was running in the peninsula, and we're excited about the new trolleys for sure, the red cars. In the parks harbors and beaches about 25 and a half million dollars Benita Creek athletic field turf replacement will be starting that construction by the end of the fiscal year. We're excited to get that underway in the harbor portion harbors and beaches portion. The belly of a yacht base and dock replacement will be starting that in the spring of next year. And additionally, the ocean piers we've been working on quite a bit. We just finished a maintenance cycle. And actually, we're going to start a new cycle this coming year. It's becoming more and more needed. And we've seen, even from the time we bid the project to when we started construction, we had to add additional uh, maintenance during that period. So we'll continue to hammer on those, uh, bridges or sorry, the, um, the peers and keep those in a good shape. Water quality environmental section. Main thing there we're working with the various locations we've done some habitat restoration, but it's a point trash interceptor area and then big Canyon phase 2 and 3 and we're excited to get the phase 3 completed this summer and we'll get into the maintenance side of it for the next 5 years and we'll see that flourish as the other phases have I'm sure. And the water section, $18.9 million. A big item there is the new water wells and pipeline. So we'll be starting the pipeline project in Fountain Valley at the beginning of the year, next year, 27. We'll be starting construction on those pipelines. And then in the summer, we'll be starting the wellhead construction. And the completion of that project is near the end of the year 2028. And wastewater. These are some programs we have every year we continue to do many linings and repairs on sewer systems throughout the city and there's there's always something to find we're definitely finding those 7th in the miscellaneous 1.4 million. We're going to be starting the the community development group will be starting the new efforts on the 7th cycle housing element planning. This is a recap of the summary of the items, each category we touched earlier. And then this is a breakdown by our funds, both combined new money and rebudget money. The big items, tideland money, the submerged lands, general fund, and water fund, they account for about 60% of our budget. We have definitely a lot of other grant funds that we use, both in Measure M, SB1, the gas tax. And then in addition, we have water funds that we are able to, through our fees, and we get a lot of work done through that as well. And with that, any questions?

comments Thank You Dave and Jim councilmember Weigand Yeah, thanks Jim.

That was good a lot of good information for us and a lot of great projects to look forward to Just on the old Newport Boulevard West Coast highways intersection improve on page 10. Is that the one? you know kind of arches they're working with Caltrans on trying to figure out how that flows and That's correct. So has there been a lot of progress made to that with Caltrans on trying to let us, you know, have a lot of input there? Or is that a roadblock or is that something that this is going to be something we're working on for a fair amount of years trying to get? I know we've already kind of been working on it for that. Are we seeing this finally come to fruition?

so the challenge initially has been the property owners we've been working with them so our first step is to work with them and acquire the land and then we'll be we're going to we've we've been working with caltrans for 15 years on this project so they're they're very engaged but we'll be going back to them to look for an encroachment permit to do the construction because it's really I mean it's just the frontage area and so will be going back to them and working through their process. Until we have the property we can't really because that's been always up for the last 3 or 4 years so it's it's just the next step in that property of Caltrans property, no it's to private properties. Wave imaging and the ace.

This is a OCTA-funded grant project, and we have been trying to do a friendly acquisition with the property owner, working with him to get a better position on the property. So that has not gone through yet. He's been working with us, but it seems to be slower. Caltrans has been involved, but not as much as we'd hoped. We are leading this effort, even though they're both state highways, Old Newport and PCH.

All right, but Cal OCT has been involved too.

OCT knows of the project. They're funding it. We have a design grant with them now. We have right-of-way, I believe, will be funded once we can do that. We have right-of-way and construction money. It's just a matter of getting through the process with the property owner, and then we'll take the plans at Caltrans and do an encroachment permit with them to build the project. The city will build the project, not the state.

Okay. Well, we're lucky we have an OCTA representative in our mayor here helping us, guide us on that. But like you said, 15 years.

Not quite 15. I've been on it quite a long time. But we need all the prayers and hope we can get because we're dealing with a state agency.

A lot of work has gone into it, but we're thankful that we have a Newport rep to help us on some of these big issues. The other one was on Vialito. I know that we all received communication of somebody that we all are close with that got hit by a bike on a bike there. So just, you know, looking at those improvements that crosswalk there into the Lido Marina Village, that is pretty hectic. I drive down there a lot. I'm sure Councilmember Stapleton's down there more than I am, but I am down there a lot and I do see a lot of impacts to that crosswalk coming through and just kind of how it all flows in and around that area. I've alerted Dave to it as well, but I've had some folks reach out. When you cross over to the Findlay track, there's a little bit of hidden, I guess, maybe succulents or whatnot that kind of hides the pedestrians in that walk. So just a good eye on that whole stretch, I think, would be helpful to, I think all of us on council would probably agree, you know, how do cyclists get on Toledo Isle? There's a sidewalk there that has a lot of pedestrian traffic, but if you're on a bike, you're not going to want to engage in that area. I think just looking at that as a holistic approach to see if there's some improvements that can be made pretty much from Findlay track all the way to Lido, Uh, it's a pretty trapped area. That new coffee place that's on there has a ton of folks hanging out on the, on the sidewalk there. And there's three other coffee places in and around that area too, that do attract a lot of pedestrians and a lot of visitors and the interconnectivity with Lido house, the theater, and then you don't Marina village with just. either being on the water or visiting all of those shops there it's a really uh boom town over there and i think that it's done a really amazing thing for the city and i think we can all look back 10 years ago and that was a ghost town and now it's it's it's lively there and it's not going away so just that extra finesse and touch to it i think would be appropriate for staff to look at so that those are really the takeaways that i had on a really great presentation and a lot of key things that we're looking forward to for the next year so thank you

thank you councilman just as a follow-up to your comments there are some activities we are as you know or the rest of council may know we're working at changing the signal timing on that intersection so we have actually a dedicated left turn that's one of the concerns on the side crosswalk at violito and newport boulevard We also just recently met, it was last week, I believe, we met with Councilman Stapleton and several people from Vialito in that area to look at that intersection right across from, what is it, El Porto right there. Very challenging intersection. It's like a five point with different angles. So we're trying to do something there, all the way up to maybe even doing this traffic signal there, if we can get cooperation with the landowners who work in there and figure out the geometrics of it. So lots of effort going in there. And I know Joe was out there with us and we talked to the owners about that, so.

Councilmember Grant.

Thank you. Just a few things I want to mention. I heard it from one of the staff members. It is interesting and very wonderful to see that we have this $95 million budget here and about $13 million or $13.5 million of it actually comes out of our general fund. The rest of it comes from grants and other funds. And so we're obviously being rewarded for some very good proactive work on the part of staff. So thank you so much. We love all the projects. One thing that you mentioned that I don't think was in the report, but if it was, I missed it, but you mentioned it, is the reestablishing of the right-hand turnoff of Coast Highway onto MacArthur. I know a lot of people that live up in that upper track, and they're always talking about how hard it is, I think I've talked to Dave about this, to get across, not so much from Coast Highway, but coming out of that track and to go left, or even to go right, The traffic coming up MacArthur is frightening, but also the traffic coming the other way. We did just have a catastrophic accident above that, so good to see that we're putting some good eyes on that traffic in that one direction, even in the other direction. I mean, the people there have sometimes, maybe some want, some don't want a traffic light there. It's not necessarily a good spot for a traffic light, but repairing the entry into that area maybe is a good way of... adding some additional public safety there so i appreciate that and then the only other thing i wanted to mention is on page eight when we talk about the police station and we've allocated some resources towards that sequa concept design and permitting i did confirm with our city manager today and i just wanted to confirm for the record that Notwithstanding that we've decided to task a ad hoc committee with looking at more than one site, these resources are only going towards the one site, which would be the Civic Center site, and no other of the other two designated locations. Just putting that out for the record. Thank you.

Mr. Churches, can you respond to that?

Certainly. So we don't have direction to study anything further besides the Civic Center site. The other sites still can be considered by the new ad hoc committee that has yet to be formed. And if the ad hoc committee wants to make a recommendation to the city council to study further, then that will come to the city council for their consideration.

And when these items are budgeted for either in the budget or in the CIP, These are long-term, particularly CIP, long-term planning documents, not necessarily a foregone conclusion that the dollars will be spent, correct?

That's correct.

Thank you. Just to finish that thought, I did also have a discussion with the city manager that we are moving forward with the CEQA and other expenditures on this particular site. This is not a far out, this is anticipated in this coming months or year. Thank you.

Just to clarify the last question, the budget is authorization for the city manager to do the project, but we still have to come back to council and approve the actual contracts which encumber the money. So there will be another discussion on the environmental and also the design elements of the police station to come back and encumber some of that money or add more however we have to do it.

Yes, I understand. Just we have put out an RFP for these projects, and we're moving. I mean, I think this is a very technical, you know, I'm just trying to establish that this money is allocated to that project. We're moving forward with spending it, and there is no money allocated to the other projects.

That's the current council direction right now. Thank you.

Council Member Webber?

i just wanted to say obviously thank you for the presentation but the spyglass project looks absolutely fabulous including the median i drive it every single day multiple times a day and it looks perfect and the entire time the construction was going on it was actually very manageable so thank you guys mayor pro tem blanc thank you madam mayor well um

Regardless of the huge turnout that we had today, this is my actual favorite part of what we get to do here, and oftentimes where I think the basis of all government is, is capital improvement. Our job is to be able to maintain, create, and improve a city continuously. I know it's easy sometimes to sit up here and look at all these projects and huge amounts of dollars and question everything, but the reality is, as we look around not only the county and the state, we should be very impressed with the job we've done. We're constantly pre-allocating. We're looking where to put funds. We're looking how to protect the future of the city. I mean, these are some of the most amazing things I could possibly imagine. And even if we're not going to build that pier in my lifetime, it doesn't matter. We're always looking on what the next step is, the next exciting piece. And I think that's true of a lot of us up here. You can only set your sights to the farthest possible reaches, and that's the goal. We live here, we want to see Newport get to that level. And oftentimes you have to become pragmatic in it, and I think that is the glory of meshing this with finance. Thank you, Jason. It's really good to know what our guardrails are. And this has been an amazing time to see both of those pieces together. See the great job we're doing protecting the financial integrity of this city, which is the number one goal. We want to make sure that we are not in the place that many, many, almost all the other cities of not only this county, but many counties in California are. But also, we're able to look towards the future, plan for it, and continue to progress and build. I think it's one of the most amazing achievements we've ever seen. And after the six years I've been here, I've only appreciated it more and more. And This is no small feat takes literally every department in the city takes everyone working together to make this happen so I commend staff. Thank you guys so much for making this as comprehensive as it is and thank you so much for getting so much of this time that's been an amazing job from appreciate it.

That will go out for public comment on this item.

Mayor Kleinman, members of the council, my name again is Jim Mosher. As I indicated in writing, Our general plan does call for, well, first I should say there is a, as I understand it, there is a capital improvement budget, which is what has been discussed here, which is possible contracts that might be signed in the next year. There also, I think the cover of the book says that it's a capital improvement program, which covers a five-year period. And our general plan says that that capital improvement program, the longer-range plan, is supposed to be reviewed by our planning commission. It promises that they do so to make sure it's consistent with our general plan. Again, just like I don't recall the FFP being reviewed by the council, I don't recall that happening at the planning commission having done that. I appreciate Director Webb's clarification that the 1.5 million, which some people thought had been previously approved by the council for the relocation of the police station, had actually not been approved because there were two votes taken, one on January 31st at a planning session, one on March 10th at a study session. Those, according to the minutes, were straw votes, which are non-binding. And so to the best of my knowledge, there has been no money yet allocated and I think that will happen on June 9th, but just as the allocation was not binding by a straw vote, I don't think the council direction is binding by a straw vote. So on June 9th, if an allocation for that is made for the police station replacement, I shouldn't say relocation because it could be where it is, I am not sure how that direction gets put into the budget because the budget doesn't have clear direction for what the items in it are for. So I'm still a little puzzled when that direction will come and how it will be memorialized in the budget. Also the comment that only 13 million of the 95 million seems to be coming from the general fund. I would just say that's a little bit of an illusion because I think some of the 95 million is coming from funds that themselves were funded from the general fund like the FFP. and some of it coming from other agencies of the state and so forth, but all that money didn't materialize out of thin air. It has all been collected by us as taxpayers or other taxpayers are helping us. We're helping them. It's not magic money that disappeared out of nowhere. And then... Time is up. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other comments on this item? Okay, we'll bring it back up here. Oh.

Good afternoon. My name is Laura Curran. First of all, I want to comment on the comments about turnout. Over 300 people came on March 10th and talked about the Civic Center Park and how much they value it and that they don't want to build the police station there. And many of those people were told that their opinions didn't matter. So when you talk about turnout, When people come, listen to them. And when people don't come, perhaps they have other things that they're working on or they're watching on the video feed and on reading the transcripts, which are excellent sources. I want to thank Council Member Grant for asking for clarification. about the work that's being done in the capital budget on the police station. Because if CEQA is moving forward, money's being spent over $1.5 million. And that's actually for our most studied site in the city. So it's helpful to have clarification about what's actually happening and what we're starting to do POs for and hiring resources for. That said, in this budget, there's a very important item that I hope people give credit to the city staff and to Lauren Kleinman for moving forward, which is the Corona Del Mar street and traffic improvements. So when Mayor Kleinman came in, she spoke that she wanted to see enhancements and some revitalization in Corona Del Mar. Those of us who live in Corona Del Mar think it's a wonderful place, but we're always open to making an even better place for the families and businesses there. When this started over several years ago, since then, they have looked at a range of projects through an extensive public process. And I give Jocelyn, the staff members credit for all of the public outreach sessions they've held and all the input they've taken from all the residents who've come to meetings at Oasis and various places. And they're looking at this current stage, what I liked, at the last Corona Del Mar Residents Association meeting where Mayor Kleinman spoke on April 26. And we have a video of that if you are interested in that meeting. There's a lot of emphasis on traffic calming. And what I really appreciated is making it easier for pedestrians to walk on the sidewalks and also to cross the streets. The idea of having pedestrian bump outs which shorten the amount of distance that people have to walk across the street and also that reduce speed where appropriate. There's also a proposal for better signalization down near Rose's Bakery for that crosswalk to make it even clearer when you're crossing with a signal that that is a crosswalk. Very much appreciate that. I'd love to see short lower speeds on MacArthur Boulevard because that's a 60 mile an hour rated street, but I'm really happy to see the discussion of improving that right turn at MacArthur and PCH because it's a challenge. SO AGAIN, WE THANK THE PUBLIC OUTREACH AND WE THANK MAYOR CLIMON FOR LEADING US FORWARD AND THE STAFF FOR INCORPORATING THE FEEDBACK OF THE PUBLIC.

THANKS, MS. CURRENT. ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM? BRINGING IT BACK UP HERE,

Yes, I just want to thank the staff, and I think that when we talk to our colleagues in other cities, it's clear that the forethought and the planning ahead that we're doing and we're able to do is a huge part of why our property taxes do continue to increase the funding from that, because I think this is just a wonderful place to live. So thanks for all the work and thought that people put into it, and the streets are striped and the trolleys run on time, so well done.

Any other comments up here? Seeing none, staff, do you need any other direction from us?

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Madam Clerk, please read the notice regarding public comments on agenda and non-agenda items.

The City Council of Newport Beach welcomes and encourages community participation. Public comments are invited on items listed on the agenda and non-agenda items. Speakers must limit comments to three minutes per person to allow everyone to speak. Written comments are encouraged as well. The City Council has the discretion to extend or shorten the time limit on agenda and non-agenda items.

We will now proceed with public comments on all agenda and non-agenda items. Please note that members of the public will still have an opportunity to comment on agenda items under consent, public hearing and closed session later in the meeting, provided they do not comment on those items at this time. Speaker who comments on any consent calendar item will not be permitted to comment again on that consent calendar later in the meeting.

good evening adam leverance i just wanted to point out to those in the room and viewers at home that tomorrow night there's a town hall style meeting titled navigating newport harbor's future i'm told that state lands representatives will be in attendance this is kind of a rare opportunity to have in-person interactions with people from state lands Any interested in future levels of city imposition of fees and regulations on tidelands permit holders? And this would include residential peer permit holders, commercial peer permit holders, member of the public and yacht club mooring holders. Strongly encouraged to attend. This has been going on for several years. There's the risk of very substantial changes in tidelands management. And it's the time for people to pay attention and be engaged if they haven't yet. I've talked to hundreds of people, and many are tired. But as you all know, some of this stuff takes time. So I'm just encouraging people. Separate matter, the next item, Councilmember Wiggins, THOUGHTS ABOUT INSTALLING AUDIO, LIVE STREAM AND RECORDING DEVICES FOR ALL CITY MEETINGS SUBJECT TO THE BROWN ACT. YOU'VE HEARD SOME ON THIS FROM ME BEFORE. HARBOR COMMISSION MEETINGS ARE AUDIO RECORDED BUT NOT VIDEO TAPED. THEY'RE HELD IN THE SAME ROOM. MOORING AND RESIDENTIAL PRIOR PERMIT HOLDERS CONTRIBUTE OVER $2 MILLION TO THE TIDELANDS FUND. I RECALL THE HARBOR MASTER SAYING THAT MOORINGS COST $316,000 TO MANAGE. Given the substantial impacts that occur in this room at Harbor Commission meetings, I think it fully appropriate that like council meetings, they be video recorded, they are audio recorded, but you can't see the graphics up on the screen. And permit holders have been doing this at their own time and expense. And giving the amount of funds permit holders contribute, it would seem to me again, wholly appropriate to film at least those meetings. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other comments?

Mayor Kleinman, members of the council, my name again is Jim Mosher, and I too want to comment on Councilmember Wigand's suggestion, but first I wanted to acknowledge it's probably been a busy day for all of you. Today, as we all know, being the 10th annual John Wayne Day in Newport Beach, and had he lived, this would have been the Duke's 119th birthday today, something everybody in Newport Beach celebrates, as I understand it. Regarding the A1 item, which you're not allowed to discuss, but I guess the public is, I somewhat favor the idea, but I think there is something nearly equivalent to this that could be done without any purchasing or installation which is recognizing the fact that we do currently audio record as far as I know all of the Brown Act meetings because they have minutes prepared for them. I assume that in the city's web server somewhere those audio recordings are being stored. If they were stored in a directory with names identifying what the files are, and the public was simply given access to that directory so that they could access those files, then as soon as the meeting happens and the recording is stored there, which hopefully would be the next day, if not that day, the recordings would all be there for the public to see. It seems to me that does not require a lot of purchase. It does not require a lot of installation. It just requires diligence on the part of the city staff to put the recordings in a place where we can see them. Currently, people can request the recordings through a Public Records Act request. It can take up to 10 days to have that fulfilled. Usually, it takes much less, but the staff is simply telling you where the recording is or moving it to another file. There is a simple solution. I think we should do it. We could do it immediately.

Thank you Thank you Seeing no other speakers now is the time for council announcements or all reports from council members on committee activities and the time for council members to request an item be placed on a future agenda council member why again do you have any announcements or reports I

Yeah, just a thank you. Zach Gentry has helped us on a pretty big deal that was occurring in the city because of the Garden Grove chemical potential spill. And CRNR is our waste hauler for the city. And their offices and their facilities and I know Council Member Grant, I think in Council Member Bartow, maybe Council Member Stapleton and visit that facility. I'm not sure who else on Council has, but all a lot of us have had opportunities to get out there and see their operations there in Stanton and they couldn't go pick up their trucks. AND SO THAT WAS A POTENTIAL FOR A PRETTY BIG DISASTER HERE IN THE CITY. AND SO ZACH AND SIMONE HAD REACHED OUT TO ME AND I'M SURE PROBABLY ALL OF YOU ON COUNCIL TO LET US KNOW UPDATES ON THAT AND PROGRESS ON THAT. julie bereda is the government affairs person for cr r and i i really want to appreciate the fact that staff and and cr r were in good communications i think they brought trunks trucks from murrieta maybe from santa fe springs from south county um simone am i forgetting anyone else to think I'M PARIS. AND SO, YEAH, DISTANCES WERE DRIVEN TO BRING THESE TRUCKS IN SO THAT NEWPORT BEACH'S TRASH WAS ON TIME, TAKEN OUT TODAY. I'M ON THE MONDAY, WHICH IS TODAY, TUESDAY, DUE TO THE HOLIDAY, BUT I'M ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK CYCLE. AND AS I WAS LEAVING, MY GREEN TRASH CAN WAS GETTING PICKED UP. SO I THINK TWO FOR THREE, AND I'LL COME HOME AND I'M GOING TO GUESS THREE FOR THREE WAS DONE. BUT HARD WORK BY CITY STAFF WORKING WITH CRNR. Zach, you just took the realm of our municipal operations director, so that was a busy week to get into the role, but you're doing great, and we really appreciate your hard work, so thank you.

Council Member Bartow?

Yes, it was just a delight to attend the Memorial Day celebration at the castaways put on by exchange club, their field of honor with all my fellow council members. They do a beautiful job and I think this was their best yet and I enjoyed their arm. May 16th, their Armed Forces Day as well, but I think this Memorial Day was one for the record books. Councilmember grant.

Thank you. So today isn't only famous day because of, I guess John Wayne day, but we also had a very important opportunity in our community today. We had a press conference at the Newport beach country club to announce a big announcement, a worldwide announcement about the senior players championship. The PGA tour is announcing that our whole classic will now be one of the major tournaments played by the seniors and that's a pretty big thing in the golf world here in southern california around the nation and even around the world so we're very proud of the whole organization we have a representative of eagle 4 who is the major sponsor of the event here today and i just wanted to thank everybody involved with the hoag senior players championship at newport beach the new moniker for the event because it's going to be wildly successful, as it has been for many years. And we can all mark our calendars for March 22nd through the 28th, 2027, as Newport Beach takes center stage again in the golf world. I also wanted to mention that Sherman Gardens, Sherman Library and Gardens had a very special unveiling this month of their Dog Days of Sherman. Everybody knows I love animals, so It's not unsurprising that I would be very interested in this exhibit. It's their annual summer installation, and it's on view now going through Labor Day, and it really is a must-see. It's larger-than-life animals. Artist is a local person. She lived in Coronado Mar and on the peninsula. Her name is Elizabeth Healy. And she's made over 500 of these larger than life dogs, mosaic dogs, and they're all on display at Sherman Library and Garden. So I hope everyone will take an opportunity to go there. And then finally, I just wanted to mention, as I do from time to time, a report on my work as the city representative at the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency, what many of you think of as the 73 Freeway. This month, we approved a $47 million early pay down of bond principal. That's a really large milestone, continues the agency's policy of reducing our long-term debt on that particular toll road. It saves costs for the toll users, ultimately for taxpayers. It is remarkable to realize, though, that the agency is already planning for the next opportunity for the San Joaquin Hills toll road in 2032. We will be able to make a $1 billion prepayment, and they're already starting to save for that, and it'll be a wonderful opportunity for additional savings for our community. Thank you. Councilmember Weber?

Yes. So to echo Councilmember Bartow, I just want to say thank you to the Exchange Club of Newport Harbor. I think this year there was the most people in attendance that I've seen at the Field of Honor. And the Exchange Club is going to have 250 flags put up on the Civic Center lawn from June 22nd to Monday, July 6th to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. So it's always really pretty out on the lawn. So I encourage anyone to go visit. And that was it.

COUNCIL MEMBER STAPLETON.

GREAT JOB TO THE EXCHANGE CLUB AND ALSO NEWPORT HARBOR HIGH SCHOOL. I HAD THE PLEASURE OF ATTENDING REPRESENTING COUNCIL FOR THE YACHT CLUB OPENING SO THAT WAS GREAT. IT WAS GREAT TO SEE THE BALBOA TROLLIES CRUISING AROUND ON THE PENINSULA. I THINK WE HAD MORE RIDERS SHARED THIS YEAR THAN WE DID LAST YEAR ON THE SAME MEMORIAL WEEK. EVERY TIME I SAW THEM GO BY AND WHEREVER I WAS ON THE PENINSULA, THEY WERE FULL. THAT'S A TERRIFIC SIGN. AND THEN JUST KUDOS TO THE NEWPORT BEACH FOUNDATION. TOMORROW EVENING, THEY'RE GRADUATING THEIR 14TH DISTINGUISHED CITIZEN PROGRAM CLASS. SO IT'S PRETTY REMARKABLE. SO KUDOS TO THEM. THANK YOU.

MAYOR POTEMBLO?

NOTHING.

THANK YOU.

Okay, we have one matter brought forward by Council Member Wygand under item number three. Per City Council Policy A1, Council Members may bring forward a matter for consideration, and if approved by a straw vote of the Council, staff will return with a report on the matter at a later meeting. The item for consideration is the following. Consider purchasing and installing audio, live stream, and recording devices for all City Board, Commission, and Committee A2 Ralph M. Brown Act applicable meetings. ALL IN FAVOR OF THE PROPOSED CONSIDERATION?

MOTION CARRIED BY ZESTRO, VOTE 7-0.

MADAM CLERK, READ THE NOTICE REGARDING PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR.

This is a time in which council members may pull items from the consent calendar for discussion items 1 through 11. Public comments are also invited on the consent calendar items. Speakers must limit comments to three minutes. Before speaking, please state your name for the record. If any item is removed from the consent calendar by a council member, members of the public are invited to speak on each item for up to three minutes per item. ALL MATTERS LISTED UNDER CONSENT CALENDAR ARE CONSIDERED TO BE ROUTINE AND WILL BE ALL ENACTED BY ONE MOTION IN THE FORM LISTED BELOW. COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE RECEIVED DETAILED STAFF REPORTS ON EACH OF THE ITEMS RECOMMENDING AN ACTION. THERE WILL BE NO SEPARATE DISCUSSION OF THESE ITEMS PRIOR TO THE TIME THE CITY COUNCIL VOTES ON A MOTION UNLESS MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL REQUEST SPECIFIC ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED AND OR REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR FOR SEPARATE ACTION.

Councilmember why and you have any items to pull from the consent calendar complex to announce related items number one through 11.

No idea.

Councilmember part of I do not Councilmember grant none Councilmember Weber none Councilmember Stapleton, yeah conflict and I'm number 8.

Due to real property interest in 4100 and 4110 McArthur.

I have none are there any members of the public that would like to speak on the consent calendar.

Mayor Kleinman, members of the council, my name is Jim Mosher. For those who didn't understand the earlier reference, 10 years ago, the city council did adopt a resolution declaring May 26th forever to be John Wayne Day in Newport Beach, every May 26th. And next year would be his 120th birthday, which I gather is a really big thing. On the consent calendar, it's becoming increasingly hard because we just have some binders in the lobby for the public coming in to know if any change has been made to things. I did not see any changes to the minutes, but I had only a few seconds to look and I didn't know where to look. And then second, the ordinance which would be adopted as item number two is the cost recovery. I provided some written comments about that. I think it really needs some attention. I'm not sure that when you approve, first of all, there are some things that we're not seem to be following it. So we're not recovering costs even though they're not indicated that we shouldn't be recovering costs. And some of the things in that for many years have given the staff great latitude as to what cost recovery should be applied to a variety of programs that we put on. And when you adopt the fee schedule, there's no transparency as to what number has been chosen. Is that fee collecting 90%, 10%, or what? So I think that needs some work at some time. Thank you. Thank you.

Adam Leverins, I apologize when I spoke earlier, I neglected to mention that the navigating Newport Harbor future meeting is not the city buildings. Anyone interested? It's at the Oasis Senior Center, 81 Narcissus Avenue at five. And I apologize for that oversight. Thank you.

I'll bring it back up here to have a motion.

Thank you madam air have a motion notice. Moving the balance of the consent calendar with noting the changes to minutes as well as the recusal by Councilmember stapleton on item number 8.

We have a second. Second by Councilmember stapleton let's go ahead and vote.

Motion carried by unanimous vote. city clerk will now read the ordinance that was adopted ordinance number 2026-4 an ordinance of the city council of the city of newport beach california amanda newport beach municipal code section 3.36.030 related to cost recovery percentages

Now move on to public hearings item number 12 ordinance number 2026 dash 5 amending title 21 of the Newport Beach municipal code and resolution 2026 dash 30 implementing the housing element establishing the housing opportunity overlay coastal zoning district. I don't personally need a staff report. Are there any council members that would like to have one? Seeing none will open up the public hearing. Are there any public comments on this item?

Mayor Kleinman, members of the council, as you are learning, my name is Jim Mosher. This item is what the staff is saying is the final stage in implementing the housing element that was adopted some years ago, despite not very many people being here tonight or this afternoon. I think you can appreciate it's a matter of some controversy because there is a initiative will be on the November ballot regarding the housing element plan. We have heard frequently that the city It doesn't have to build anything, it just has to plan for that, that this is implementing overlays. I should have begun by saying the whole overlay program that you will be approving and that the Coastal Commission certified as being okay and was blessed by HCD, the courts have found that it does not comply with the government code requirements for providing affordable housing. So this is a plan that is not going to be a permanent solution to how we address our housing requirements in Newport Beach. And secondly, although we've been told that we only need to plan, we don't have to build When we present a plan to HCD to get certified, there is an understanding that it's a good faith plan that will actually deliver what it says it's going to deliver, which includes the affordable housing. And although we don't have to build it, if it doesn't get built, it gets added on to our quota for the next RHNA cycle. So it's something that does not go away. And a point I've been trying to make repeatedly and not seem to ever be making it clear to anybody about this is that our current plan, which proposed adding 8,174 new base units to meet our affordable housing requirement, assumed that of those, 40% would be affordable. Every time we entitle some of those 8,174 units and they are less than 40% affordable, that means the remaining ones have to be even more than 40% affordable. And although the city says that they're keeping track of how we're doing on the arena, I don't think anybody is keeping track of how much percentage the remaining housing would have to be affordable. It soon becomes 100% or more than 100% to meet our quota. So I don't think we're going to end this cycle. Even with this approval in the coastal area, certified by the Coastal Commission, I don't think we're going to meet our quota. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll now close the public hearing. Any other comments or questions up here or do I have a motion?

I have a motion.

Do we have a second? Seconded by Council Member Weber. Let's go ahead and vote.

Motion carried by unanimous vote.

Moving on to item number 13 resolution number 2026 31 community development block Grant 2026 27 annual action plan to any council members new staff reporter have questions for staff on this item. Seeing none open up the public hearing. Are there any questions or comments rather from public on this item. Seeing none, I'll now close the public hearing and bring it back up here for questions or motion.

Thank you, madam and love to make a motion recommending separate condition. A second.

Seconded by Council member why again, let's go ahead and vote.

Motion carried 7 0 vote, you know.

Now on to item number 14, ordinance number 2026-06, amending Title V, business licenses and regulations in Title 20, planning and zoning for tobacco retailer businesses and cigar lounges. Mr. Jurgis, do we have a staff report on this item?

We do, Madam Mayor. I'm going to go ahead and hand it over to Community Development Director Jaime Murillo and Associate Planner Osborne.

Thank you, City Manager Durgis. Oscar Orozco here with the Planning Division presenting the Tobacco Retailer Business and Cigar Lounge Ordinance. All right, thank you. Okay, so just to begin with, I'd like to highlight some of the council actions that have been made in the lead up to today's public hearing. So I'd like to remind you all in September of 2025, the city council adopted a temporary moratorium for 45 days to effectively establish or to limit the establishment of any new tobacco retailer businesses, otherwise known as smoke shops. as well as the expansion or relocation of any of the existing tobacco retailer businesses. That same evening, the council also initiated code amendments to direct staff to prepare a regulatory framework for these tobacco retailer businesses, as well as made a decision to approve a code change to permanently ban flavored tobacco and nitrous oxide within the city's municipal code. subsequent to that original meeting in october the city council extended the moratorium for an additional year and that's through the september of 2026. this was in an effort to provide staff sufficient time to prepare a zoning code amendment as well as go do all the necessary public hearings such as the planning commission public hearing Fast forward to this year, the Planning Commission, excuse me, staff went to Planning Commission March of 2026 with the proposed ordinance with regards to tobacco retailer business and cigar lounges, and the Planning Commission recommended approval with specific suggested edits. Those edits have been made and incorporated into the ordinance that's proposed to you tonight. The existing municipal code treats tobacco sales and tobacco retailing sales as a general retail sale land use type. It is generally permitted in all commercial zoning districts, including mixed use zones, and there are no current standards associated with these businesses. In addition, and given the project, or excuse me, the ordinance also includes a cigar lounge code amendment, the existing municipal code treats cigar lounges as smoking lounges and prohibits them citywide. THEIR PROPOSED ORDINANCE TONIGHT INCLUDES TWO PARTS. THE FIRST ONE IS A TOBACCO RETAILER BUSINESS WHICH WILL EFFECTIVELY ESTABLISH A PERMIT PROCESS WITHIN TITLE 5 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE AND AMEND TITLE 20 SPECIFICALLY TO INCORPORATE NEW DEFINITIONS, REVISE SOME OF THE DEFINITIONS AS WELL AS INCLUDE REFERENCES TO TITLE 5 FOR THE NEWLY PROPOSED ESTABLISHMENT OF A PERMIT PROCESS WITHIN TITLE 5. And second to that would be the amendments to Title 20 for cigar lounge regulations, specifically to amend definitions and establish specific standards for cigar lounges. The goal of the amendments is to establish comprehensive enforceable standards to protect public safety and prevent youth access. The proposed ordinance includes new regulations. The most important one, of course, being that there is now a permit requirement for a tobacco retailer business. This is an annual permit that would need to be secured by a tobacco retailer business that would be issued by the chief of police. These are non-transferrable. In addition, there are operational standards and new prohibitions over specific products to be sold. Just to highlight a few, the ordinance does not allow for self-service displays, as well as has additional signage standards for tobacco retailer businesses. And then just further enforcing prohibited products such as nitrous oxide, illegal cannabis, and flavored tobacco, things that have been previously prohibited within the municipal code. This map here depicts all of the zoning districts within the city that would allow for a tobacco retailer business. Generally speaking, these are all zoning districts that are non-residential, so commercial zoning district as well as mixed-use zoning districts. Now, this is where the specific zoning code would allow them to be as a permitted use However, with the proposed ordinance, there is now a new requirement for tobacco retailer businesses, which is that they have to be separated from sensitive land uses. So more specifically, there would be a requirement for a tobacco retailer business to be at a minimum 1,000 feet away from another permitted tobacco retailer business. There would be a requirement for a tobacco retailer business to be at a minimum 500 feet away from a public school, private school, daycare center, park, playground, civic center, hospital, beach, library, youth center, or other public facility. And then lastly, 500 feet away from any residential zoning district. With the proposed new regulations, there are existing known businesses throughout the city that would be affected by this ordinance, more specifically in relation to the distancing requirement. Depicted on this map here, you'll see a total of 10 different tobacco retailer businesses that have been identified with a radius of 500 and 1,000 feet surrounding the black dot there. This is intended to depict the distancing requirements that they otherwise would not be able to meet. So the proposed ordinance includes a non-conforming section which would allow existing retailers to be able to continue operations so long as there is no substantial change with their operations and that they maintain continuous operations. They would be required to obtain a tobacco retailer permit within 60 days of the effective date of the ordinance. These businesses have all been notified both via mail in person as well as via phone of the potential change as well. Moving on to the second component of the ordinance, which would be the cigar lounge zoning code amendment more specifically There is a proposal to revise the definition of a smoking lounge to omit cigar lounge as well as create a new Specific land use type which is for cigar lounges within the city the ordinance identifies two specific zones within the city which are identified as being adequate for this type of land use. These two zones are the office airport zone as well as the regional commercial office throughout the city and are depicted in these two maps here. The ordinance also includes specific standards to these cigar lounge business types. These standards are highlighted here, minimum requirement of 21 plus for patrons, required to also install fire sprinklers and provide adequate ventilation. And then they also have to comply with state law, more specifically labor code in regards to smoke-free workplaces, meaning that the cigar lounge would not be able to sell alcohol, nor would it be able to sell food, so it wouldn't be able to be a restaurant. And then lastly, in an effort to ensure that there is no over-concentration of cigar lounges, there is also a minimum distance requirement between two. That would be a minimum of 1,000 feet between one and another. With that being said, that concludes my presentation. Staff recommends you hold a public hearing, deem the project exempt from CEQA, and introduce the ordinance. I'm available for- Thank you, Oscar. Thank you.

Okay, seeing no requests to speak up here, I'll open the public hearing.

Adam Lovrens. During the staff presentation, I had been wondering about existing businesses that overlapped the distance requirements, so I appreciate that that was in there. I'm curious, I imagine there's a known quantity of these retailers now Is there some sort of cap at the existing level of sellers? Will that be existing level of permits? Can there be an expansion? Myself, I've been a pretty avid non-smoking advocate my whole life. But Freedom America, there's some level of do what you want. So I'm just curious on if this is going to change incrementally or now the number of smoking-focused businesses or retailers. Thank you.

Any other speakers on this item?

Mayor Kleinman, members of the council, Jim Mosier again. I'm certainly not an advocate for the sale of tobacco products. I think the intent is good. My understanding though is the intent is not what matters but actually what the language says. This is a very complicated proposal here with its tangled definitions and provisions about retaining non-conforming uses and so forth and how those are read and I really don't think if it taken literally what it actually says it would probably accomplish what it set out to do but also more defining any business selling any tobacco related product without defining what tobacco related means a book with tobacco in the title Is that tobacco related? I don't know. It's not defined in here. Some of the concerns I raised at the Planning Commission, which were shared by the Planning Commissioners, I don't think are addressed here. One of those is its understanding of what a residential district is when we're putting housing overlays on things. Are those creating residential districts? Because this is in a different part of the code. It's not clearly defined how that works. It's also not clear. We were shown a map of where they could be established, but that was before applying the distancing rule. Are any of those left after you apply the 500-foot distancing rule? And then finally, what happens as new parks, as new residential developments happen from the overlays? Can those businesses which started after this ordinance but before the housing was added, what happens to them? This only protects ones that are existing now. Are they forced out of business? It's not clear from this. So I think the language matters. I don't think the language is quite ready yet. Thank you.

Thank you. Seeing no other comments on this item, I will close the public hearing and bring it back up here. Are there any comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I want to thank staff for the time and thought put into crafting this new ordinance. We definitely had a lot of difficulty with the two smoke shops and CDM, who were not just in violation of our local ordinances, but were selling illegal substances and also selling to minors. Even with that, the judges demonstrated unwillingness to shut either of them down. I think this ordinance will allow us to put operators on notice all the rules and regulations through the permitting process so the expectations are clear. Given that, I'd like to make a slight modification of the enforcement provision to suspension up to 180 days for a first violation and mandatory revocation for a second violation. I will make that a motion along with staff's other recommendations. Do I have a second? Seconded by Councilmember Weber. Let's go ahead and vote.

Madam Mayor, can I just point of clarification? Just what is it currently?

So currently what we'd include is basically a kind of a three violation system where a first violation in five years would be up to a 30-day calendar day suspension, second violation up to 90 calendar days, and then third up to 180 days or revocation. But it I think that that change would be appropriate to kind of give some discretion up to 180 days for a suspension for the first violation and then mandatory revocation for the second violation.

Okay, works for me. Thank you.

Motion carried by unanimous vote.

Madam Clerk, please read statement on motion for reconsideration.

motion to reconsider the vote on any action taken by the city council at either this meeting or the previous meeting may be made only by one of the council members who voted with the prevailing side are there any motions for reconsideration seeing none we'll move on to closed session are there any conflicts to announce on our closed session agenda yes i

Should we do that before the recusal?

I think it's fine if you want to go ahead and announce your recusal, and then we'll take public comments.

Yeah, I'll be recusing myself to extreme bias on this matter.

And yes, we are adjourning this meeting in memory of Judy Ware, Council Member Grant.

Thank you. I guess it would be worth mentioning that it's sort of interesting that we're having this adjournment tonight when we've had such an interesting journey with our trash in the last couple of days. And I do also want to... give a shout out to all the trash companies that we work with in our daily routine because many of them did step up knowing that CNR was going to have some issues and were available. So to that community, they're very united community. They're not always competitive. And it was a pleasure to be able to reach out to them when we were in need. We are adjourning for Judy Ware. Judy was a trailblazer. In Southern California's waste and recycling industry, she was highly successful as a woman-owned business leader whose determination and intelligence and professionalism opened doors and set an example for others in the industry. She was born in 1948 in Los Angeles, graduated from UCLA in 1968, and soon after married her husband of 58 years, Ben Ware, who survives her. Judy and Ben co-founded Ware Disposal in Los Angeles together, recognizing an opportunity for growth. They relocated to Orange County in 1971 and continued building the business and their family, raising a son, Jay, and a daughter, Christy. Under Judy's leadership, Ware Disposal grew from a two-truck operation into a major solid waste and recycling company, ultimately operating more than 150 vehicles across the Southland. Among Judy's many accomplishments was the development of the Madison Resource Recovery Facility in Santa Ana, which is an advanced recycling operation that serves as an important part of Orange County's environmental infrastructure. Beyond her business accomplishments, Judy was active in public service. She served on our Environmental Quality Committee and advocated in Sacramento many times on issues affecting the waste industry. And she was recognized for these contributions and named as Legislative Woman of the Year in 1996. Judy lived in Newport Beach for more than three decades. She was deeply devoted to her family and took great pride in her role as the matriarch of her family and the Ware disposal. company among her many passions she also raised and showed champion whippets as well as championship hunter jumper warm bloods throughout western u.s the western us and created lasting memories with her family through those experiences her legacy will endure as a remarkable example of resilience innovation and long-term leadership in one of california's most essential industries thank you are there any public comments on our closed session agenda

Seeing none, we're recessed to closed session.

Thank you, Mayor. City Council adjourned to closed session to discuss the one litigation matter entitled Stephen Schulman v. City of Newport Beach.

Mr. Harp, is there a closed session report?

Thank you, Mayor. There's no closed session report this evening.

With that, we are adjourned.