An Upgrade for Newport City Hall?

Newport Beach’s mansions, boutiques and beaches typify Southern California coastal glamour. But its City Hall is as unremarkable as a Van Nuys strip mall.

The civic center’s exterior is boxy and bland. The interior is chaotic and crowded. Hallways double as storage areas. Part of a first-floor restroom was converted into an office.

But after years of crowding and inefficiency, the city is getting serious about a face-lift -- possibly even a new start. But the idea of a new or upgraded City Hall has critics who think that would be a waste of tax money.

Today, the City Council will review three plans that call for remodeling or rebuilding City Hall on Newport Boulevard and decide whether to pursue one or leave the complex as is.

“We’re kind of bursting at the seams,” said Councilman Don Webb, who is also the city’s former public works director. “I experienced it over the years as more and more services were required throughout the community.” If the City Council approves a preliminary plan, its cost and design will be calculated. The council is expected to make a final decision on which, if any, plan to adopt by the fall. City officials have said only that the project could be put to a public advisory vote.

For years, the civic center has had bad plumbing, overcrowded workstations and inadequate heating and air-conditioning. The city spends from $100,000 to $150,000 annually to patch up leaks and repair heating and air-conditioning, said City Manager Homer Bludau.

City Hall houses nearly 200 staff members in 10 departments, including the city attorney’s and city clerk’s offices. Thebuilding, planning and public works departments are among the busiest, he said. Last year, the city processed more than 11,600 building permits, more than all other Orange County cities, officials said.

A bigger or improved City Hall would bring relief for marketing specialist Sarah Boulton. For 18 months, she and Chris Bailey have shared a 6-foot-by-4-foot cubicle.

They sit back-to-back and avoid bumping heads by strategically placing their chairs. Maneuvering around each other is clumsy, and taking phone calls can prove chaotic.

“There is absolutely no privacy,” and there are many distractions, Boulton said. “I feel more productive when I’m here by myself.”

A 2002 study found the civic center outdated, inefficient and failing to meet earthquake safety standards and requirements to accommodate visitors with disabilities. Prompted by the study’s finding, space shortage and complaints from visitors, officials decided something had to be done.

Two of the options require remodeling several existing facilities and expanding. They are tentatively estimated at $22.2 million and $23.6 million each. The least expensive plan calls for City Hall to be rebuilt for an estimated $19.1 million.

The city also is considering rebuilding the 1950s fire station and adding a parking structure. These costs are not included in the estimates for the City Hall project.

Mayor Steven Bromberg said he wanted an efficient City Hall. Rebuilding or refurbishing City Hall and the fire station and parking structure projects would most likely be funded with a form of bond based on general fund revenue, he said. Such a bond would not require a public vote for approval, city officials have said.

Bromberg, who is trying to drum up support, has given public tours and been host of TV segments about the plans. Four public outreach workshops have been held.

“When you drive by, you should be able to say, ‘That’s a nice city hall,’ and what we have now is clearly not representative inside or outside,” Bromberg said.

But some believe the city should outsource more work and cut its staff, rather than spend money on a new city hall.

“The older a building gets, the more maintenance it has. That doesn’t mean you need to scrap [it] and build something new,” said John Buttolph, of Newporters for Responsible Government, which was formed three months ago in response to the city’s promotion of a new city hall.

Buttolph also criticized the city, saying it did not solicit enough public comment or alternatives.

“I just don’t think that’s as creative as the city can be,” he said.

The city already has a significant amount of outsourced work, including its park and landscape maintenance services, trash pickup, legal services and municipal billing services, Webb said.

And despite its increasing workload, the city staff has not dramatically increased over the last several years, he said.

Talk of relocating or remodeling the complex has arisen since the 1960s but fizzled due to lack of support from council members or fear of public opposition, according Marilee Jackson, a city public information officer.

In the 1970s, plans were made to combine City Hall and the Police Department, which at the time was on the premises, into a city government complex at Fashion Island.

The proposed Civic Center Plaza would have also included a fire department and court. But the effort failed after a bond measure to fund it failed.

The oldest building in the complex, which includes offices for the mayor and city manager, was built in 1945.

The last major construction project was in 1985, when the city added a building for its public works and planning offices.

“Politically, it’s one of those things a lot of people just did not want to deal with. I get that sense that they said, ‘Well, tomorrow, we’ll do it tomorrow,’ and it’s gotten to the point that tomorrow is now,” Bromberg said.

T.R. Carter worries that construction could be bad for her business.

She has owned a boutique across the street from the civic center for two years and fears that construction would cramp parking and access for her customers.

“It’s a charming building. I’m happy with it the way it is, and if they want to remodel, they should let us park in their parking lot,” she said.