Community Members:

A critical and long-awaited project to replenish beach sand along 12 miles of Orange County coastline -- including Newport Beach's -- is at last coming to fruition. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractors are preparing to start work later this month.

Crews will dredge about 1.2 million cubic yards of sand about 2 miles off the coast of Surfside and Sunset beaches and deposit it on a stretch of beach south of the Seal Beach naval station. Over the next few years, through natural wave and tidal flow, the sand will move south to replenish beaches at Huntington, Bolsa Chica and Newport.

Newport Beach will see more immediate results. As part of the project, the Army Corps will use 100,000 cubic yards of accumulated sand from the far West Newport area, near the Santa Ana River, to replenish beaches between 52nd and 36th streets in the coming weeks. Work is scheduled to begin in late November, following recent sand management work by the County of Orange.

Federal sand replenishment projects began in the 1960s to offset the erosion of Orange County beaches caused by construction of federal flood control channels and other projects that disrupted the natural flow of sand and river sediment.

Historically these replenishment projects were done every 5-7 years. The last such project was in 2009, however, before federal funding was discontinued. Newport Beach, along with other coastal cities, successfully advocated for the return of federal funding, which was awarded in the current fiscal year budget. The federal contribution is $15.5 million, with about $7.5 million from the state, local cities and agencies. 

The ongoing replenishment of beach sand is a critical issue for Newport Beach. Beach erosion threatens a major part of our economy -- ocean recreation and tourism -- and increases the risk of flooding during high tides. The City will continue to advocate on behalf of our residents and businesses for a return to more frequent sand replenishment along the Orange County coast. 

City Manager, Grace K. Leung

The Be Well mobile crisis response team operates in Newport Beach 12 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond to mental and behavioral health crises. The mobile unit is staffed with mental health specialists and works closely with the City’s police and fire departments.

This week, the Be Well team:

• Transported two people to the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter for intakes.
• Transported a person to a crisis stabilization unit for treatment.
• Transported a person to the sobering station at the Be Well campus for treatment.
• Transported a person to their homeless services provider for assistance.
• Collaborated with the Newport Beach Fire Department to treat a person after resolving a mental health crisis.
• Collaborated with the County’s Crisis Assessment Team to place a person into a psychiatric facility for treatment.

TO REACH BE WELL: The mobile crisis team is dispatched through the Newport Beach Police Department. To request service, dial 911 or call the Police Department's non-emergency line at 949-644-3717. 

On the Agenda: Nov. 14 City Council Agenda

The next City Council meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 14. Items of interest are highlighted below. The entire agenda and reports can be viewed here.

A study session will begin at 4 p.m. Agenda items include:

• Nighttime closure of public restrooms. City staff will present options for full or partial nighttime closures of Newport Beach's 34 public restrooms for Council review and discussion. 
• Library Lecture Hall construction bids. The Council will review and discuss recent construction bids and project costs for the proposed Library Lecture Hall. 

The regular meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Agenda items include:

• A Municipal Code amendment related to City Council Policy H-1, which describes the distance that piers and floats may extend bayward throughout the harbor. In September the City's Harbor Commission recommended an amendment to provide clear guidance throughout the harbor on the distance that piers and floats may extend bayward versus the broad, harbor-wide approach in use today. The Commission recommends incorporating the entirety of H-1 into the Code.
• A Municipal Code amendment to allow short-term mooring license agreements and establish fair market value license fees for offshore and onshore moorings. This summer the Harbor Commission considered allowing mariners to use moorings without having to acquire an existing permit or participate in the sub-permit process. The Commission recommended Municipal Code revisions to accommodate a new license arrangement for City moorings as well as fair market fees for such a license. The recommendation also included a draft license agreement and process for issuing licenses for these moorings.   
• Consideration of a $109,000 contract with Newport Beach-based Rabben/Herman for public outreach, concept development, and prioritization of proposed improvements to the Ocean Boulevard Bluff Park. In a previous study session, the Council asked staff to solicit a request for proposals to identify a consultant to develop the concept and design the project. 
• Tennis and Pickleball Club at Newport Beach project amendment. The Council will consider legislative amendments to the approved Tennis Club at Newport Beach project at 1602 East Coast Highway. The amendments are to: 1) reduce the number of future tennis courts from seven to four courts and add 14 pickleball courts; 2) increase the number of future hotel rooms from 27 to 41 rooms; 3) increase the gross floor area of ancillary uses within the future hotel by 4,686 square feet, and; 4) provide three attached condominium units and two detached single-family residences in-lieu of five detached single-family residences. The request also includes a new 15-year-term development agreement to ensure the orderly development of the property and certain public benefits to the City of Newport Beach.
• Legislative amendments related to the General Plan Land Use and Noise Elements and a resolution to override an Orange County Airport Land Use Commission's determination of inconsistency. The Council will consider ordinances amending the Newport Beach Municipal Code, Newport Place Planned Community and Newport Airport Village Planned Community to accommodate some of the housing units identified by the certified 2021-2029 General Plan Housing Element. Additionally, the Council will consider a resolution overriding an August determination by the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission that the amendments are inconsistent with the 2008 John Wayne Airport Environs Land Use Plan.
• A public hearing to consider water and sewer rate adjustments for the next five years. The Council will consider a Finance Committee recommendation to adopt an updated rate schedule that would increase the average household monthly rate by about $6 per month for water through 2028 and $2.20 - $3.50 for sewer charges through 2028. The City’s goal is to ensure that the rates will fully support operational costs, critical infrastructure maintenance and necessary capital improvement projects. Customer fees are the only source of funding; no taxes support Newport Beach's water and sewer systems.
• Adoption of proposed changes to the Newport Beach Municipal Code and Council policies. The proposed revisions standardize language, eliminate unnecessary provisions, and update existing provisions, in part, to comply with changes in state law. The proposed changes are available for public review on the City's website.