The proposed development agreement results from unpublicized negotiations by two council members with the Irvine Co. and private council discussions.
These have been without benefit of expert consultants (even the city manager), interim reports, public communication or publicity.
The plan was first exposed at a joint council and Planning Commission study session on Oct. 30, virtually without public comment.
The staff report, recommending approval and dated Nov. 15, is supposed to be digested and forwarded to the City Council with a recommendation after a Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, with primary action by the council on Dec. 15 and final action shortly thereafter. This is an unprecedented brief timeline. The report is very difficult to understand.
Proposal: What might be helpful would be to add a notice on the front page of the report in red, bold 16-point caps along the following lines:
This 450-page staff report includes a proposed development agreement with the Irvine Co. in Newport Center. It grants to the Irvine Co. the virtually unfettered right to develop and build 300,000 additional square feet in Fashion Island, plus 430 residences.
It substitutes 250,000 square feet of high-rise office buildings for a planned hotel expansion or development entitlement. Office and residential buildings can be built to a height of 375 feet or 50% higher than the tallest building in Newport Center.
There are no conceptual models, plot plans or illustrations of the proposed project at buildout.
The development, will add approximately 3,000 vehicle trips per day (not including traffic from a new city hall in the park) to several nearby intersections, two of which are currently operating at “unsatisfactory” peak hour levels.
