Newport Beach City Council Preview

Here are some items the council will consider tonight:

BEACH REPLENISHMENT

If the council agrees, the city will hire a contractor for $195,000 to take sand dredged by the Channel Reef Community Assn. and use it to replenish Corona del Mar State Beach and Balboa Island's Ruby Beach. The private marina is "almost totally aground," according to a report to the council, and the beaches need the 7,000 cubic yards of sand the dredging would yield.

The association would do the dredging, and the city would truck the resulting sand to the designated beaches. The California Coastal Commission, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state Regional Water Quality Control Board all have agreed to allow the project, which would begin March 1 and be done by Memorial Day.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The council probably will approve the beach replenishment project, especially since the bulk of the project's funding would come from money the Irvine Co. was required to pay the city when it began developing Newport Coast.

NEWPORT COAST DRIVE SAFETY

A Feb. 2 cement truck rollover at Newport Coast Drive and Pelican Hill Road North prompted concern from residents and council members as it was the fifth such accident in the area since July 2004. Council members Keith Curry and Nancy Gardner have proposed a list of ways to improve safety at the Pelican Hill/Newport Coast intersection, and the council will discuss those ideas.

Among the suggestions are possibly re-engineering the intersection, installing a warning sign for trucks and limiting speed to 10 mph on southbound Newport Coast Drive, a downhill grade that can cause trucks to pick up speed.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The council is likely to agree to the safety measures. The police department already has taken some steps to make the intersection safer, including placing a radar trailer there to show drivers their speed and remind them of the limit, and providing more traffic enforcement in the area.

— Compiled by

Alicia Robinson