Newport Beach : Proposal on Square to Be Heard Thursday

The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on a controversial proposal for far-reaching changes at Cannery Village/McFadden Square.

“The overall effect of the plan is to try to reduce the traffic generated in the area,” senior city planner Chris Guston said. “One of the tools is a reduction in density.”

However, the proposal has drawn opposition from residents who maintain that the addition of fast-food restaurants, office buildings and other developments will further congest the area. Some residents also have questioned the need for “revitalizing” the area.

“The community at large hasn’t been very well informed about the scope of this plan,” said Marilyn Hendrickson, Lido Isle representative on a citizen committee that has been monitoring the proposal for more than a year. “There’s a great deal at stake here: increased traffic, density, fast food. You have to give people a chance to study this.”

Specifically, Thursday’s hearing deals with proposed changes in zoning and land use designations for the 40-acre area on the Balboa Peninsula.

Cannery Village/McFadden Square currently consists of a mix of commercial, industrial, residential, office and retail uses.

Proposed changes, Guston said, would allow the same mix, but “in a more orderly fashion” by enticing “revitalization” of the area by private developers.