NEWPORT BEACH : Land Acquisition Issue Goes on Ballot

After nearly three hours of emotional debate, the City Council voted 5-2 late Monday to put the acquisition of 138 acres of undeveloped land near Upper Newport Bay on the ballot as an advisory measure in November.

The council also decided that the $58-million purchase, which would be funded by property owners through an assessment district, must receive 60% of the vote for the council to go ahead with the acquisition.

“We need a strong indication from the voters that they want us to go forward with this,” Mayor Clarence J. Turner told more than 120 residents gathered in the council chambers.

Councilmen John W. Hedges and Phil Sansone voted against putting the issue on the ballot, saying that the proposed assessment would be unfair to those who live farthest from Upper Newport Bay.

If the plan wins voter approval, the city would assess owners of single-family houses $120 per year for 30 years to purchase the land from the Irvine Co. Apartment and mobile-home dwellers would pay about $100 per year, while business owners would pay according to the square footage of their buildings. Owners of vacant residential lots would pay about $50 a year.

Even if the advisory measure wins 60% of the vote in November, the city’s 26,000 property owners could still file a formal protest. The acquisition could then be killed if enough property owners join the protest.

“I feel that keeping this land will keep Newport unique,” said Sarah Jorgensen, 19, a resident of Newport Beach. “It is a place to watch the sun rise over Saddleback Mountain for someone who does not live on waterfront property.”

The Newport Conservancy, an environmental organization that negotiated the purchase agreement with the Irvine Co., has mapped out plans to restore much of the 77-acre Newporter North and 61-acre Castaways properties to their natural habitat, at the same time setting aside small pieces for hiking trails, a parking lot, a baseball field and the nautical museum.

The Irvine Co. last month agreed to sell the land for $58 million, about $13 million less than the appraised value. But if the November vote fails, the company has said it will go ahead with plans to build 363 townhouses and a boat marina.

Dozens of residents and business owners stayed past midnight Monday to discuss the issues that will frame the public debate before the election.

Opponents questioned the very premise of the acquisition, saying that if the Irvine Co. is allowed to build townhouses as planned, 72 of the 138 acres will be left undeveloped at no cost to taxpayers or the city.

Vic Sherreitt, a resident of Balboa Island, has scheduled a meeting at the Newport Library at 7 p.m. Thursday to organize opposition to the acquisition.