Newport Beach City Council approves 4400 Von Karman housing development
The Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday night voted unanimously to approve a development agreement of a planned residential project near John Wayne Airport.
Known as Residences at 4400 Von Karman, the 13-acre project was approved 6-0 following a public hearing. Councilman Will O’Neill recused himself due to his membership at the nearby Pacific Club.
A full reading of the adopted resolutions and ordinances will take place at the next City Council meeting on Feb. 9.
Developer the Picerne Group also operates One Uptown Newport, which opened in 2019. The new development, located within the Koll Center Business Park, is bordered by Von Karman Avenue and Birch Street. It would build 312 apartment units — including 13 marked as low-income or affordable — atop an 825-space parking structure. The five-story development would also include a separate, free-standing 284-space parking structure, as well as an approximately one-acre public park.
“We’re in a new world here in California, in terms of housing,” Newport Beach Mayor Brad Avery said. “We’ve seen our share of sub-par developers, and this is not it. This is a quality developer that’s doing a good project. It’s what we need. It’s what California needs, it’s what this city needs. We’re working our way toward a denser future, but at least this city, at least, is doing a better job, and I’m sure it will be borne out in the years ahead.
“This makes sense. For many of us who have lived here a long time, we have a concept of Newport. We’ve got all these different villages, but there’s a consistency that there’s good development … This village will be its own village.”
There was a general consensus among the City Council members that the area near the airport would be a focus as the city needs to meet its new Regional Housing Needs Assessment numbers. The new project has been more well-received than a previous proposal, introduced in 2017 by a different developer that would have consisted of three 13-story towers.
Project changes that were presented to the City Council on Tuesday by Picerne, post-Planning Commission approval, included a slight widening of the park area and a change of the freestanding parking structure location.
While supporting the project, Councilwoman Diane Dixon expressed concerns over the lack of amenities available to future residents of the area.
“How far is the nearest grocery store?,” she asked, before being told it was probably the Mother’s Market at the corner of Jamboree Road and Michelson Drive, several blocks away.
“The amenities to serve a residential population, I think, are in dire need,” Dixon said. “For future projects that are going to be coming into this area, let’s be mindful. We’re putting thousands of people in this area, and the nearest grocery store is not that near.”
The Laguna Beach City Council allocated $600,000 to provide COVID-19 relief for the city’s hotels on Tuesday night.
Other council members indicated that they saw it as a question of which comes first, the chicken or the egg?
“That market will come, as soon as we get more residents in the area that will use that market,” City Councilwoman Joy Brenner said. “I feel confident that will be resolved down the line.”
City Councilman Noah Blom, who represents District 5, said he has spent plenty of time in the proposed development District 3 lately and called it “struggling.”
“I saw an area of Newport that doesn’t feel like Newport,” Blom said. “It feels like a district removed from who we are. In the end, I think the staff has done a commendable job on getting this to be an area of Newport and bringing it into the fold of what it is we’re looking for as a city … I think we’re at a great point right now to start building that community in the airport district.”
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