Letters to the Editor: Newport Beach General Plan favors growth in the airport zone, not citywide

Re. “Mailbag: City Council appears to have pledged its allegiance to developers”: Local activist Lynn Swain recently argued in the Daily Pilot that the City Council should consider “floating” 2,200 new housing units across Newport Beach and into our existing communities. Ms. Swain thought that this would be better than building 260 condos over by John Wayne Airport as part of a plan called Koll Center Residences.

I disagree. I believe most growth in Newport Beach should occur over by the airport and away from our existing communities. That’s what the voters demanded in the Newport Beach General Plan because it’s what makes sense.

Newport Beach has a voter-approved General Plan that calls for Koll Center Residences to be built over by the airport. The developer has rights to its property and has adhered strictly to the General Plan.

Koll Center Residences checks all the boxes and should be approved. Ms. Swain may want to float 2,200 housing units across our existing communities but that’s not what our General Plan calls for and it’s certainly not what would benefit our city.

Scott Schubert

Corona del Mar

California favors diversity

What is our world coming to? First, ever since President Trump wondered aloud why more Norwegians aren’t moving to America, I’ve been trying to imagine California as a Nordic-friendly state.

When my paternal grandfather served in the California Legislature in the 1870s, immigrants from Mexico and China already were making significant contributions to the quality of life here.

I doubt my dad’s father, or any of his colleagues in Sacramento, ever thought the Golden State would become a Norwegian outpost. That concept never was mentioned in my high school history books.

Get a grip, Mr. Trump. You may dream about wanting more light-skinned immigrants coming here, but it’s pretty clear from our history we like our black, brown and Asian neighbors. Too bad you don’t seem to know any of them. America would be a stronger nation if you did.

Denny Freidenrich

Laguna Beach

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