Street and other projects discussed at Newport councilman’s town hall meeting

Residents of central Newport Beach heard about several ongoing and planned infrastructure projects, especially on roads, during a town hall meeting presented by Councilman Jeff Herdman on Monday at the Civic Center.

Herdman’s 5th District includes Balboa Island, Newport Center and the Port Streets, among other areas.

On Balboa Island, city workers are completing a sand replenishment program bringing in about 10,000 yards of sand through May at a cost of almost $500,000, said the city’s deputy public works director, Mark Vukojevic.

Among other projects are water-conserving median re-landscaping along San Joaquin Hills Road and San Miguel Drive this summer, street repairs in the Port Streets and Spyglass areas beginning this fall, the next phase of Grand Canal dredging beginning in January and a redesign of Bayside Drive that’s in the works.

Streets in the heart of Balboa Island also are due for a facelift. Marine Avenue between South and North Bay Front is in the early stages of design for street and sidewalk reconstruction and beautification.

In response to a resident’s note that cracked surfaces on Balboa and Park avenues make for a bumpy drive — “especially in our golf carts,” Herdman added — Public Works Director Dave Webb said he would consider grinding down the cracks to smooth the ride.

Residents concerned about speeding drivers on Bayside pressed Webb for solutions. He assured them the city wouldn’t ignore the issue and encouraged them to attend the next City Council meeting May 9 for a more thorough discussion.

Community Development Director Kim Brandt provided an update on the city’s new contract with short-term rental monitor Host Compliance, which combs online vacation rental sites such as Airbnb and VRBO to compare their listings with the city’s list of permitted vacation homes. Balboa Island, the Balboa Peninsula and Corona del Mar have high concentrations of the city’s roughly 1,200 short-term rental properties.

Brandt said the company has already returned a report with several questionable listings.

hillary.davis@latimes.com

Twitter: @Daily_PilotHD