NEWPORT BEACH : Land Use Near Airport to Be Studied

Concerned that the MacArthur Boulevard area near John Wayne Airport is becoming cluttered with rental-car lots and freight depots, the City Council instructed Assistant City Manager Ken Delino this week to study the situation and present a report in October.

Delino had asked for a moratorium on auto service facilities in Newport Beach near the airport.

“It’s apparent what’s happening to the area,” Delino told the council Monday. “The price to rent the property is less than to rent on airport property.”

Though council members rejected Delino’s request, they asked him to research the area’s growth. “I think we need to do some planning so it doesn’t turn into a seedy airport-support type of area,” Mayor John W. Hedges said.

A plan by Avis Inc. to move an auto detailing facility to a property on Birch Street and a fleet storage lot to nearby Dove Street raised his concern, Delino said. Both the Planning Commission and the council approved Avis’ proposal.

The city’s intention for the MacArthur Boulevard corridor, however, has been to attract businesses such as office centers, restaurants and retail operations, and to avoid congestion like that along Century Boulevard approaching Los Angeles International Airport.

Rental-car lots like Avis’ produce little tax revenue for Newport Beach, Delino said, because transactions are done at the airport, which is on county property.

“The nice-looking desks and all the sales tax generation are in the airport,” he told the council. “The repair and maintenance are in Newport Beach.”