13 locales in consideration for new hall

Baker's dozen of suggestions includes Back Bay View Park, Newport Center, Mariner's Mile.Look out the window of Newport Beach City Hall, and the view is likely to be old buildings, parked cars or traffic on Newport Boulevard.

But imagine while waiting for your building permit, you're gazing at birds alighting on the Back Bay.

Or planes taking off from John Wayne Airport.

A city committee will consider a list of 13 possible sites for a city hall, including the existing Balboa Peninsula location. Some of the other suggestions to be vetted are sites by the airport and two that overlook the water, as well as several near Newport Center.

The council formed the committee in response to some residents' complaints that the council hadn't looked at the options before deciding to replace the current City Hall building, a $48-million project.

Many of the proposed sites will have obstacles, and the biggest deal-breaker will be if the land isn't for sale, said committee chairman Larry Tucker. He added that the city doesn't intend to use eminent domain to take any site, so if the city doesn't own it and the owner isn't selling, the site will fall off the list.

One suggestion was the Land Rover dealership and nearby police and fire station sties, which together would be large enough for city hall facilities.

"That's a typical situation we're looking at -- where's the Land Rover dealership going to go, where's the police station going to go, where's the fire department going to go," Tucker said. "Most, if not all, of the sites are not just ready to go."

City Councilman Steve Rosansky, one of three council members on the committee, said the Orange County Museum of Art site piques his interest -- if it becomes available. Art museum officials are considering a move to Costa Mesa's arts district, but the plans are still in early stages.

That's the rub with a number of the suggestions, Rosansky said.

"I don't think there's a property on the list that you'd say, 'Oh my God; this is it,' " he said.

The site committee met for the first time Monday. At future meetings, it will run the sites through a checklist and decide whether they're feasible. Members will look at, for example, whether the site can accommodate at least 72,000 square feet of building space and 300 parking spaces; is it centrally located; whether a public vote would be required to change the land use; and which other government agencies, if any, would have to approve the plans.