Newport Heights Community Assn.’s forum focuses on e-bikes, traffic safety in District 2

Six of Newport Beach’s City Council candidates were in the hot seat Monday night as residents grilled them for their thoughts on e-bikes, traffic safety and development during a forum held in the youth center of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church.

Hosted by the Newport Heights Community Assn., the forum was the fifth to date held ahead of the Nov. 8 election, when four of the seven seats on the City Council will be on the ballot.

Council members in Newport Beach represent individual districts but are voted in at large. The Newport Heights and Cliffhaven communities are in District 2, which is represented by Councilman Brad Avery, who was reelected in 2020.

Seven of the eight candidates running appeared at the church Monday night. Lauren Kleiman, who is running for election in District 6, which encompasses Corona del Mar, was absent.

Robyn Grant, who is running in District 4, which includes the Eastbluff and Bonita Canyon communities, ceded her time to the other candidates as she is running unopposed in her district.

The forum was moderated by Newport Heights Community Assn. board member Jed Robinson and was broken down into two parts. Each candidate was allowed five minutes to introduce themselves to the community and to state their goals for the city. Following that, candidates were given one minute each to answer questions submitted by the audience.

Candidates were asked their opinions on a range of topics, including the redevelopment of Mariners Mile, the regulation of e-bikes and the creation of a center similar to the OASIS Senior Center in Newport Heights. They were also asked to weigh in on local traffic concerns and what form a potential development on lower Castaways should take.

Councilwoman Joy Brenner called attention to the city’s circulation plan, noting it would come before the City Council at its next regular meeting on Sept. 27. She suggested residents in Newport Heights come out to weigh in on the policies proposed.

Brenner suggested traffic be diverted away from the neighborhoods, which the other candidates generally agreed with.

Planning Commissioner Erik Weigand, who is running for election in District 3, said the biggest upcoming projects on Mariners Mile relate to the Ardell property — about eight acres of harbor-front property sold to real estate investors Manouch and Mark Moshayedi in 2016. Some of those projects have already been proposed.

“We have to engage the property owner from a community perspective and we have to find a solution that fits,” said Weigand. “We have to have a good community discussion and we have to work with the applicant and that has to form consensus. You can’t just go and oppose, oppose, oppose. You have to find some solutions.”

Fellow candidates were generally supportive, calling for community members and developers to communicate with one another.

E-bikes and e-bike safety were at the top of the minds of many at the forum, who asked what could be done.

District 3 candidate Amy Peters said she felt parents needed to be involved and educated in e-bike safety to keep kids from getting hurt, adding that she knew personally that children were speeding past stop signs and not abiding by traffic laws.

”... [E-bikes] are not going to go away, but there’s restrictors you can put on these bikes, just like a golf cart. You can only go 14 miles an hour,” said Peters. “There are legal limits, but these kids don’t think, and their parents need to know the truth and need to know that it’s their responsibility too.”

Candidates also agreed on the issue of enforcement.

District 1 candidate Joe Stapleton said the matter of e-bike safety was not only one that concerned children who use them but adult users too. He said he cycles regularly through the city and he noticed “major” problems with circulation in Newport Beach.

Candidate Tom Miller said he and his wife live on the Balboa boardwalk, where they see e-bikes every day. He also agreed that education and enforcement are important, but he felt the Newport Beach Police Department is understaffed, which makes enforcement of bicycle rules a challenge.

“They have crime to deal with. They have homelessness to deal with. My position is let’s increase the police department, create more enforcement. We have to change the behavior on these e-bikes because the probability of outlawing them is pretty slim, so let’s change the behavior first,” said Miller.

Community watchdog and District 3 candidate Jim Mosher said he believes there are ways for bicyclists and pedestrians to get along, but he noted the revolving discussion in Newport Heights around sidewalks and bike lanes. Some audience members asked what candidates thought of speed bumps, sidewalks and street lamps.

Mosher advised Newport Heights residents to attend the Sept. 27 meeting on the city’s circulation element to “see what the policies are that the council may be adopting in two weeks and how they impact [sidewalks and bike lanes].”

The next candidates forum will be held by Speak Up Newport at the civic center community room Wednesday. It begins at 5:15 p.m.

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