NEWPORT BEACH : Assessment District Expected to Be OKd

After more than three years of negotiations and planning, the City Council is expected to approve creation of the McFadden Square Assessment District on Monday, paving the way for construction and renovation of the historic plaza area.

The designation of the site as an assessment district--a funding mechanism developed so that the cost of renovation can be distributed among area property owners and the city--will mean that half the total cost of the renovations to the Newport Pier plaza area, along with the cost of decorative street lights and sidewalks, will be assessed to the approximately 30 property owners in the plaza vicinity.

The total cost of the project is estimated at about $1.9 million, with property owners absorbing about $620,000 of that. The city, which will pay for capital improvements to the streets and add a new traffic light, will pay the remainder of the bill.

Among the renovations planned for the area are decorative street lighting, new curbing and sidewalks. Officials also plan to build a central plaza area with antique-looking cobblestones and a small grassy lawn.

“A lot of people that were initially against it are saying ‘Hey, it’s not going to be such a bad idea,’ ” said Steve Badum, the city’s project engineer.

Bill Schonlau, a neighborhood resident who has lobbied for the changes for the past three years, said that he is pleased to see the project get under way.

“I think it’s going to take the most historically significant part of the city, its founding site . . . and convert it from one of the less attractive areas to one of the most attractive areas,” Schonlau said.