|
Community Members:
The City recently celebrated an important milestone in a project that will strengthen long-term water reliability for Newport Beach and two of our Orange County neighbors.
Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, and Fountain Valley formally entered into a cooperative agreement to develop a new municipal water well that will serve residents and businesses for decades to come. City leaders from all three communities gathered on Thursday, November 6 for a signing ceremony that highlighted the shared commitment and partnership behind this effort.
Under the agreement, Newport Beach will oversee planning, design and construction of the new well in collaboration with the Laguna Beach County Water District, the City of Fountain Valley and the Orange County Water District. Fountain Valley will benefit from public infrastructure improvements and local service support as part of the agreement, while Newport Beach and Laguna Beach gain additional groundwater capacity.
The well will draw from the Orange County Groundwater Basin, which is managed by the Orange County Water District. When the new well is operational in 2028, Newport Beach can increase its use of local water and reduce reliance on imported water sources from Northern California and the Colorado River. Today, about 85 percent of Newport Beach’s water supply comes from the groundwater basin. This project is anticipated to bring us to 100 percent locally sourced groundwater, achieving full independence from imported water.
The well will be located on Bushard Street in Fountain Valley, in a productive area of the basin near Newport Beach’s main transmission line.
This project continues Newport Beach’s long-term investment in the groundwater basin, a strategy initiated in the 1990s to reduce reliance on imported water. Regular investment in our local supply has strengthened resilience, lowered costs and supported a more sustainable groundwater basin.
This is a significant regional effort and a major step forward in ensuring a stable, sustainable water supply for our community.
City Manager, Grace K. Leung
|
|
|
Above (L-R) Laguna Beach Mayor Alex Rounaghi, Newport Beach Mayor Joe Stapleton and Fountain Valley Mayor Ted Bui sign the regional water well agreement at Crystal Cove State Park on Nov. 6. |
|
|
Please join us on Wednesday, November 19 at 6 p.m. for a District 1 Town Hall Meeting hosted by Newport Beach Mayor Joe Stapleton. City staff will present updates on public safety, the City’s General Plan, and other topics of interest to West Newport residents.
The meeting will be in the Marina Park Community Room, 1600 W. Balboa Blvd.
|
|
City Launches Free Compost Program for Residents
Newport Beach residents now have an easy, free way to boost their gardens while helping the environment. Beginning on Monday, November 17, the City will be offering free, nutrient-rich compost made from organic landscaping waste collected locally and processed by OC Waste & Recycling.
Residents can pick up compost at any of four self-serve locations while supplies last:
-
Bonita Canyon Sports Park, 1990 Ford Road
-
Grant Howald Park, across from the Oasis Senior Center
-
Avon Street Parking Lot, entrance at Tustin Avenue and Avon Street
-
City Corporation Yard, 592 Superior Avenue (enter through Industrial Way)
The compost will be pre-bagged and replenished every two weeks.
For more information, call 949-644-3055.
|
|
 
The City is redesigning the Newportbeachca.gov website and we want to make it easier for you to find what you need.
Please take a quick survey to tell us how you use the site and what you'd like to see improved.
The Recreation & Senior Services Department is here to help you beat boredom to the punch with a new round of classes to keep every age active and sharp all winter long. We are offering a variety of programs designed to challenge you physically and mentally. If you are looking for a knockout selection of high-energy classes, engaging leadership and communication workshops, or fun introductory sports for our littlest participants, we have exciting options for everyone in your family this season.
Registration for Winter 2026 classes opens Thursday, November 20 at 8 a.m., with classes starting the week of January 4. Participants are encouraged to visit nbca.gov/recreation for a fully linked digital copy of the Navigator now to bookmark your favorites before heading to nbca.gov/register to register when it opens.
The Fair Housing Foundation will be holding a Fair Housing Workshop via Microsoft Teams from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, November 25, for the City of Newport Beach.
This workshop is free and open to the public. Attendees will learn about how they are protected under fair housing laws, what their rights and responsibilities as tenants and landlords are, and how to deal with tenant and landlord disputes.
The Fair Housing Foundation serves Newport Beach residents under contract with funds through federal Community Development Block Grants.
For more information, visit www.FHFCA.org.
Registration is mandatory. RSVP here https://bit.ly/4q2IdbO.
|
|
 This week, the City’s homeless outreach and response teams:
- Placed a person into a skilled nursing facility after receiving medical treatment.
- Placed a person at the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter.
- Placed a person in the Yale Navigation Center.
- Enrolled seven people into services.
- Continued to shelter people. Sixteen people who had been experiencing homelessness in Newport Beach are sheltered in the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter.
Click here to view the latest homeless dashboard, which includes key monthly and yearly data on the City's homeless response.
Click here for information on the City's Good Giving program.
|
|
|
The next meeting of the Newport Beach City Council will be on Tuesday, November 18 at 4 p.m. The full agenda is available here.
Agenda items include:
- A study session discussion on a potential Underground Utility Assessment Loan Program. The loan program would be designed to assist property owners experiencing financial hardship in paying assessment and private connection costs associated with the formation of future underground assessment districts. Staff will lead a presentation and receive direction from the Council.
- A purchase agreement with Indiana-based Model 1 Commercial Vehicles to acquire six new trolley vehicles. The new trolleys would support an expansion of the popular summer trolley service to Balboa Island and Corona del Mar beginning in 2027, building on the success of the popular summer Balboa Peninsula Trolley. The City has secured more than $2.6 million in Measure M2 grant funding from the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to help purchase the new trolley vehicles and operate the expanded service from 2027 to 2031. Due to manufacturing lead times of more than a year, the trolleys are expected to arrive in early 2027, allowing the City to increase its fleet to 11 vehicles and begin the expanded service in summer 2027.
- A cooperative agreement with OCTA to study potential relocation options for the Newport Transportation Center. Under the proposed agreement, OCTA would lead and manage the study and the City would fund half the cost, up to $250,000. The study will evaluate the existing location, the City's preferred site at 3848 Campus Dr. and other possibilities. The study will also examine operational needs, environmental factors, equity considerations and federal requirements to ensure the center can continue to function as a key regional transit hub.
- Approval of a development agreement and affordable housing implementation plan for a proposed housing project to redevelop the MacArthur Court Campus in the Airport area. The proposed redevelopment would retain the existing high-rise office towers and replace several older low-rise office buildings with two five-story residential buildings with 700 rental units and 10,000-square-feet of retail space. No construction plans would be approved at this stage; future design review and permits would be required before the project could proceed. The development agreement and affordable housing implementation plan would secure development rights for the housing and outline public benefits, including funding for MacArthur Boulevard improvements, expanded public open space and construction of up to 49 affordable housing units at an off-site location.
- Certification of Responsible Housing Initiative petition and consideration of options. The Newport Beach Stewardship Association submitted a voter initiative seeking to amend the City’s General Plan to allow construction of 2,900 affordable housing units for extremely low- to moderate-income households. Following certification by the Orange County Registrar of Voters, the City Council must choose one of several next steps: 1) Request a report analyzing the initiative’s potential impacts on land use, infrastructure, City finances, and services; 2) Adopt the initiative as submitted; or 3) Place the measure before voters either in a special election or on the November 2026 General Municipal Election ballot.
|
|
    
@cityofnewportbeach
WWW.NEWPORTBEACHCA.GOV | 949-644-3309 | 100 CIVIC CENTER DRIVE, NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92660
© 2024 City of Newport Beach, All Rights Reserved
|
|
|
|
|
