Council chooses firm for city hall

The Newport Beach City Council voted late Tuesday to begin contract negotiations with the architecture firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson to design a new city hall with an estimated price tag of $60 million. A controversial sail-like structure that is part of the design could be scaled back to placate homeowners in the area.

The San Francisco-based firm’s design for the city hall includes a large, translucent, light-catching sail on one side of the building that would jut above city-imposed height limits for the area, much to the chagrin of neighbors to the future city hall site.

“I have a 20-degree ocean view,” said Corona del Mar resident Dana Lee. “And I have a suspicion that right square in the middle of it is that [expletive] sail. If that view plane is not preserved, I’m going to be one angry [expletive].”

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s design could still be retooled to accommodate height restrictions for the area. Councilwoman Nancy Gardner voiced her commitment Tuesday night to scaling back the sail.

“If there’s one guy that’s affected by that, it’s not fair,” Gardner said. “There’s no sail as far as I’m concerned.”

Ron Hendrickson, a lead proponent of the City Hall in the Park ballot measure that passed earlier this year, also said he did not like the sail component of the Bohlin Cywinski Jackson design.

“I think the sail needs to go,” Hendrickson said. “While it could be interesting to see something projecting up, the guy who ends up behind the sail is going to be very upset.”

A view plane ordinance passed in the ’70s protects ocean and bay views of homes east of MacArthur Boulevard next to the chunk of land in Newport Center reserved for the next city hall. Planned community guidelines for the area set height limits at 45 feet above the grade of the site. Design guidelines for the City Hall project set by city officials take the view plane ordinance into account, but allow for architectural features, such as the sail, to jut above height limits.