NEWPORT BEACH

The Planning Commission last week delayed a decision on changes to the city’s controversial traffic phasing ordinance to May 6. Commission members want more information before authorizing changes to the way the city assesses developers for the effect their projects have on traffic.

The current ordinance sets a threshold for traffic impacts and then, once that limit is reached, forces subsequent developers to pay for the cost of accommodating the additional congestion. But that, developers argue, allows some builders to increase traffic without paying anything, while forcing other developers to carry the entire financial burden for all the cars. Because of that, the current city law could run afoul of several recent court decisions. City Atty. Bob Burnham already has recommended changes to the law so that the city could make the traffic improvements and then assess the developers their proportional share of the cost.