NEWPORT BEACH : Panel to Negotiate Future of 400 Acres

In an effort to improve roads and control what little open space is left in the city, Newport Beach officials voted Monday to choose a committee that will help shape the future of about 400 acres of undeveloped land.

The committee will negotiate with the Irvine Co., which owns the land and has offered to advance money for needed road improvements in return for permission to build on the parcels.

“We need to get our teeth into this now and help each other preserve our neighborhoods,” Councilwoman Jean Watt said Tuesday. “These properties are of communitywide significance.”

The Irvine Co. this year put forth a proposal to trade roads for buildings, and recently chose a negotiating team to work on the specifics.

Dave Dmohowski, vice president of entitlement for Irvine Pacific, part of the Irvine Co., is joined by Irvine Co. Vice Chairman Ray Watson and Irvine Pacific President Patrick Smith on the negotiating team.

The Newport Beach committee will be selected at the next council meeting on Dec. 11, Watt said.

“We would like to work toward getting a fair-sized community park,” said Watt. “Now is the time to make our wishes known, because these are the only parcels left where that could occur.”

Dmohowski said the Irvine Co. will begin to submit detailed development proposals after looking at the overall traffic circulation plan and determining how best to implement needed road improvements.

The firm will also consider the need for affordable housing, he said.

Watt identified seven parcels as having priority in terms of open space:

* A 60-acre tract at Dover Drive and Coast Highway. The site of the original McFadden’s Wharf, the parcel is designated by the general plan for 151 residential units and 10 acres of open space. Some residents want a large community park there, Watt said, but at about $1 million an acre, a way would have to be found to finance it.

* The Newporter North parcel, about 80 acres east and north of upper Newport Bay between San Joaquin Hills Road and the John Wayne Tennis Club. Under the General Plan, 212 units are permitted with provisions for open space.

* The 33-acre Newport Village site on the northwest corner of MacArthur Boulevard and Coast Highway. The Irvine Co. has already given 10 acres to the Newport Harbor Art Museum and another four acres is in negotiation for a new library site, Dmohowski said. The remaining acreage is designated in the General Plan for about 115,000 square feet of commercial space and a four-acre park.

* The San Diego Creek North and South sites between Jamboree and MacArthur boulevards at the north end of Upper Newport Bay. The north site, of 13 acres, is designated for commercial development and a fire station. The 20-acre south site is slated for 300 multifamily residences. Since the sites are beside a creek and have views, the city would like to see a wide swath of open space there, Watt said.

* Bayview Landing at the corner of Coast Highway and Jamboree Boulevard. The upper pad of the 17-acre parcel will probably become a view park, Watt said.

* Buck Gully, 55 acres running from Coast Highway in Corona del Mar to Spyglass Hill. This site is designated as open space and will probably be dedicated by the Irvine Co. to the city, county or other public agency, Dmohowski said.

Watt said options for obtaining open space include allowing the Irvine Co. to build more in other areas, permitting higher density developments if other parcels are set aside, or having the city purchase the land outright.

“Or we could do all of these,” she said. “The point is, now is the time for people to get interested and aware of who our negotiating team will be.”