Corona del Mar Today

City cuts Corona del Mar business district funds

The Corona del Mar Business Improvement District will be getting more than $10,000 less this fiscal year from city's matching funds, according to city sources and online B.I.D. budget documents.

The city will be giving the Corona del Mar B.I.D. $38,000 this year compared to last year's $49,500. In 2008-09, the city's matching funds to the group were $40,560.

The matching funds come from a pool of $100,000 that the city distributes among four business improvement districts, said Kathlyn Bowden, economic development coordinator for Newport Beach.

"In the past, staff distributed the funds to each B.I.D according to a formula based on the amount of levy collected by the BIDs," she said. "When the Restaurant Association increased their levy in 2009, the old formula would have decreased the amount of funds available to the other three B.I.D.s, including Corona del Mar."

Because the smaller Balboa Village and Marine Avenue B.I.D. groups would have been most adversely affected, she said, city officials adjusted each portion in order to preserve meaningful funding for the smaller groups.

During 2008-09, the district collected about $111,900 in member assessments and $40,560 in city funds, spending approximately $127,325.

The Corona del Mar Business Improvement District helps fund projects including streetlight improvements, holiday decorations, banners, a V.I.P. card program for local businesses and more.

The Business Improvement District includes businesses located along East Coast Highway between Avocado Avenue and Hazel Drive. For more information about the group, click here.

***

Homeowners to get letters promising Oasis Palms won't block views

The Newport Beach City Council will review and file a letter Tuesday that promises seven homeowners that King Palms at the newly constructed Oasis Center will be trimmed or removed if they ever grow and block views.

City staff drafted the letter following a July study session where homeowners on Sandcastle Drive told council members that they feared the trees would grow tall enough to block their "blue water ocean views."

Experts said the trees had been obtained from an estate and were mature and unlikely to grow tall enough to create obstructions. But neighbors said they wanted protection, so staff wrote the letter promising that trees would be trimmed or removed in the future if both the neighbor and a city arborist agreed on the impact.