Newport Center Expansion Vote : Irvine Co. Says a ‘No’ on ‘A’ May Delay Road

The long proposed Pelican Hills Road, which would connect Bonita Canyon Drive with Coast Highway south of Corona del Mar, became a campaign issue in the Nov. 4 City Council election at a press conference Monday in Newport Beach.

Mayor Philip R. Maurer, who is not up for reelection next week, appeared at the news conference with Irvine Co. Vice Chairman Thomas H. Nielsen. They said Pelican Hills Road could be delayed up to 10 years unless voters approve Measure A, authorizing a $300-million expansion of Newport Center, in a special Nov. 25 election.

Nielsen said that, if the measure passes, the Irvine Co. is pledged to have the road under construction within the next two years. “We’d like to have it started by next year,” he said.

After the press conference, Allan Beek, a slow-growth candidate for the Newport Beach City Council in next week’s election, said he thinks that the Irvine Co. would proceed to build Pelican Hills Road regardless of what happens in the special election. Moreover, said Beek, “the road will only add to the traffic problem in Newport Beach.”

Beek’s Comments

Beek said Nielsen’s appearance at the press conference indicated that “the Irvine Co. knows it’s going to lose Measure A” and was thus becoming more openly involved in the Nov. 4 and Nov. 25 elections in Newport Beach.

The Newport Beach City Council voted 5 to 2 on July 14 to approve the Newport Center expansion plan, but a citizens group headed by Beek and calling itself Gridlock obtained enough voter signatures to force a referendum. That referendum is Measure A.

While Measure A is a separate, special election on Nov. 25, its fate is a key issue in the Newport Beach City Council election a week from today. In that election, four of the city’s seven council seats are to be filled, and self-styled “slow-growth” advocates, including the group Gridlock, are hoping to sweep in a new majority on the council.

Maurer told reporters he called the Monday press conference “to set the record straight” about some candidates’ claims “that Pelican Hills Road will be built regardless of what happens to Measure A.”

Timetable Factors

Maurer produced an Oct. 27 letter from Nielsen that said: “ . . . opponents claim that Pelican Hills Bypass will be built ‘regardless of the Newport Center plan.’ This is not an accurate statement. The truth is that without the approval of Measure A, the completion date for this much-needed bypass is contingent both upon approval of the downcoast development by the California Coastal Commission, as well as the timing of actual development projects within the coastal area.

“As the coastal plan will be implemented in phases, construction of Pelican Hills Road could be delayed for as long as eight to 10 years.”