Newport Beach’s state of the city address goes virtual for the first time

Live from Newport Beach, it’s Mayor Brad Avery’s state of the city address — this time it’s virtual.

This year’s state of the city address was broadcast online instead of during the Mayor’s Dinner, which was postponed to an undetermined date later this summer in light of pandemic-related restrictions.

“[Avery] and I discussed how we were going to do the format because this has never been done before for the state of the city, so we decided that we would do a talk show kind of format,” said Speak Up Newport President Ed Selich.

Some of the questions asked Wednesday were submitted by members of the public. Avery answered queries about his life in Newport Beach, what he’s seen change in the city and why he first decided to run for City Council in 2016. Avery ran for reelection in 2020 and won to represent District 2, which includes Newport Heights/Cliffhaven and West Newport.

Avery was previously the mayor pro tem and was appointed as mayor of Newport Beach on Dec. 8.

Avery was also asked what he saw as his role as mayor in handling the ongoing pandemic. Avery said he felt Newport Beach did a good job in responding to it, describing the situation as feeling “like getting hit with a truck.”

“I think we did a very good job all the way through,” said Avery.

“Sort of parsing it, but also at the same time not letting this national emergency hijack what we needed to do locally in terms of moving the city ahead in terms of doing what we can or could to work the budget, keep the necessary projects moving forward, reduce our spending, preserve our capital and still provide as many services to the residents as possible,” he added.

Other questions ranged from his vision for the city in the future; updates on ongoing projects such as the new fire station and library lecture hall, code enforcement, the Harbor Department, the harbor dredging project, traffic, the possible widening of Mariner’s Mile; homelessness and John Wayne Airport.

Avery said he was concerned about the Regional Housing Needs Assessment numbers, which currently have Newport Beach on the hook to zone for 4,834 housing units. The city filed an appeal of those draft numbers in October. One of his goals, he said, was to be part of the discussion on housing and development.

“This is a huge deal in town,” said Avery. “Even though they’re not built in our communities, they are going to be here and be part of us going forward and if it’s done well, it’ll add to the town. And if it’s not done well, it’s going to hurt.”

Other topics that Avery plans to focus on during his year as mayor are homelessness and the harbor.

In an interview on Thursday, Avery said he felt the change in format still disseminated information that would have been given in a normal address and added that he believes city finances are stronger than expected coming into the new year.

“I think the most concerning thing is us recovering from the pandemic and while it looks very promising with the vaccine rollout, we still are very mindful that new strains of the virus could impact a robust recovery,” said Avery. “That’s a concern in terms of our residents’ safety, but also the recovery of services to residents, recovery of businesses and being able to live our normal lives, which will be a while yet.”

The hourlong address can be viewed at speakupnewport.com/state-of-the-city-2021.

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