Guidelines

Mathis Winkler NEWPORT BEACH -- The mechanics of Greenlight remain uncertain after City Council members spent Tuesday afternoon discussing possible guidelines for the slow-growth initiative. Approved by voters in November, the new law requires citywide elections on any general plan amendment for a project that adds more than 100 peak-hour car trips or dwelling units, or 40,000 square feet more than the plan allows. While council members are not required to adopt guidelines, the text of the initiative encourages it. But the initiative requires at least six of the city's seven elected officials to vote in favor of any rules.

Deirdre Newman After an exhaustive review, changes to the city's zoning code and design guidelines will be considered again tonight at the Planning Commission meeting. Councilman Gary Monahan was the first to initiate review of the code and guidelines to make the process clearer and faster. The changes cover issues like floor area ratios, second-story construction and design review procedures. The changes are holding up the City Council's decision on view protection guidelines and an overlay zone that the council delayed until July in hopes the changes would be ready for consideration by then.

o7The Air Force this week has announced new guidelines for religious tolerance that seek to have members of the service refrain from public prayer at official functions. The move comes in response to allegations of pervasive religious intolerance that favored Christian evangelicals at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Some have wondered if the guidelines will be implemented fairly. What do you think of the guidelines and the chances of their being properly implemented?

Mathis Winkler NEWPORT BEACH -- The law has been in place since December, but it took until Tuesday for the final nuts and bolts of the city's slow-growth measure to be ironed out. After months of discussion, six of the seven City Council members adopted a set of guidelines, now known as council policy A-18, that will help to put the Greenlight law to work. Councilman Gary Proctor was absent from the meeting. Council members, a majority of whom had opposed the initiative that voters approved in November, said they felt confident the guidelines followed the intent of the city's residents at the polls.

As manager of the cardiovascular program at the UC Irvine Medical Center, Nathalie De Michelis sees many patients who either have a propensity for heart failure or are well on their way and need help. That's where the hospital in Orange and its cardiology staff come in. They offer advice, medication and tests to determine whether that shortness of breath, high blood pressure, slight fluid in the lungs and swollen feet are things to worry about. Established three years ago, the medical center's Heart Failure Program has been treating about 70 regular patients every three months, half of whom are between the ages of 46 and 85, De Michelis said.

A Newport Beach man could be sentenced up to 63 months in federal prison, depending on his criminal past and if he accepts his responsibility for defrauding two companies out of nearly $3 million, federal court records show. Mitchell Keith Kleinman, 45, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court’s Charlotte division in North Carolina last month to conspiracy and money laundering for his part in a scheme to overbill Georgia Pacific, a manufacturing company out of Atlanta, and Hickory Springs Manufacturing Co. out of North Carolina.

Deirdre Newman The ambiguous duo of "harmony and compatibility," which has bedeviled residents and officials since it was added to the city's residential design guidelines, may be excised tonight. In its place could be "design excellence," with specifics on how to achieve that excellence. Today, the Planning Commission will consider changing the city's zoning code and residential design guidelines, covering issues such as floor area ratios, second-story construction and design review procedures.

Deirdre Newman Costa Mesa by the Sea is a reality for only a small number of privileged homeowners in the city. Yet residents in areas that offer ocean views are divided over whether the city should enact regulations to protect those views. That conflict was mirrored in the Planning Commission's handling of the issue Monday. Although the planners ultimately voted 4-1, with Commissioner Bill Perkins dissenting, to approve guidelines for ocean-view protection for second-story home additions, they did so with trepidation.

Deirdre Newman Two years ago, the City Council set guidelines to control explosive growth after officials noticed small lot developments running rampant on the Eastside. Despite the guidelines, developers often try to circumvent the rules. The fate of the two projects, which happen to be on the same block of Elden Avenue, represents how tough those guidelines can be. On Monday one developer who reduced the size of his project to abide by the guidelines was rewarded with approval by the Planning Commission, while another who requested a slew of exceptions to requirements for his project was not. The project that was approved Monday calls for a three-unit development at 2459 Elden Ave. Architect Bruce Stookey of Andrade Architects, representing property owner Ferguson/Day Properties, had originally suggested five units, but that was not blessed by the planning staff, said Planning Commission Chair Bruce Garlich.

Mathis Winkler NEWPORT BEACH -- For now, only one thing remains certain about Greenlight's guidelines: City officials and supporters of the slow-growth initiative want to work together to put the measure in place. Just when they will is up for debate. Both sides presented their guideline proposals at a City Council study session Tuesday, but council members could go no further than to decide to continue discussions at a future meeting. Greenlight -- overwhelmingly approved by voters in November -- requires citywide elections on any general plan amendment for a project that adds more than 100 peak-hour car trips or dwelling units, or 40,000 square feet more than the plan allows.

When many people think of Newport Beach, palm trees and glistening yachts come to mind. But for some residents, business owners and city officials, the picture isn't so idyllic. In one part of the city, bare dirt and a chain-link fence pass for the shoulder of a major city entryway. In another, businesses turn over like the tide and visitors clog parking spaces meant for residents. To bring these areas up to what some consider "Newport Beach standards," city officials last year launched a campaign to revitalize five specific places.

COSTA MESA — The city's Homeless Task Force has tentatively decided that only those with strong ties to the community be allowed to qualify for homeless services. The qualifications are largely based on those used by the city's Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program. The HPRP outlines that a person must have lived in Costa Mesa within the past 24 months, for at least 90 days, with proof of residency, including a previous lease, proof of utility service, written proof of residency from a landlord or school records.

COSTA MESA — City employees have reluctantly agreed to participate in the newly formed Contracting Committees that will review Costa Mesa services before city Chief Executive Tom Hatch opens them up for bidding from outside groups. In a letter to Hatch on Tuesday, Costa Mesa City Employees Assn. (CMCEA) President Helen Nenadal said the organization will participate, but she repeated her request that the union see the committee's guidelines ahead of time. Her request was in response to a letter Hatch sent to the CMCEA on Friday.

SANTA ANA — The battle over selling the Orange County Fairgrounds moved from Sacramento to a Santa Ana appellate courtroom Friday. Attorneys for the state, which is trying to sell the 150-acre Costa mesa property, and for a Newport Beach company that intends to buy it tried to persuade a three-judge panel to bring the almost two-year saga to a close. Friday's hearing was supposed to focus on whether the Court of Appeal should lift a court order blocking the sale of fairgrounds to the company, Facilities Management West.

NEWPORT BEACH — For the first time in decades, doctors believe that early diagnosis may help delay the onset of Alzheimer's Disease in some patients, local health experts said. The change was brought on by this week's announcement that the National Institutes of Health and the Alzheimer's Assn. have published new guidelines for diagnosing the disease — the first revised set in 27 years. The new guidelines recognize an earlier stage, a change in the memory called mild cognitive impairment, which in many patients is linked to the later development of dementia that occurs 7 to 22 years earlier than previously recognized, said Dr. William Shankle, program director for Memory & Cognitive Disorders at Hoag Hospital's Neurosciences Institute.

NEWPORT BEACH — A 25-year-old regulation may preclude the proposed Ronald Reagan centennial statue and other statues from being displayed prominently in Castaways Park, according to the city attorney. The park is intended to be "a natural setting with unobtrusive additions," according to the planning guidelines for Upper Castaways, the area including the park. City Atty. David Hunt said at Tuesday's council meeting that the city manager will have to determine if the proposed statue violates that regulation.

As manager of the cardiovascular program at the UC Irvine Medical Center, Nathalie De Michelis sees many patients who either have a propensity for heart failure or are well on their way and need help. That's where the hospital in Orange and its cardiology staff come in. They offer advice, medication and tests to determine whether that shortness of breath, high blood pressure, slight fluid in the lungs and swollen feet are things to worry about. Established three years ago, the medical center's Heart Failure Program has been treating about 70 regular patients every three months, half of whom are between the ages of 46 and 85, De Michelis said.

COSTA MESA — The City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to amend its zoning code to make it tougher to open recycling centers citywide. The vote follows the recent revocation of the Garcia Recycling center permit on 19th Street. The business has operated in Costa Mesa for more than 20 years without any violations. Planning Commissioner Steve Mensinger had called for a review of the center's operations and had suggested closing it down due to complaints about noise and the type of customers attracted to the center, such as the homeless.

A Newport Beach man could be sentenced up to 63 months in federal prison, depending on his criminal past and if he accepts his responsibility for defrauding two companies out of nearly $3 million, federal court records show. Mitchell Keith Kleinman, 45, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court’s Charlotte division in North Carolina last month to conspiracy and money laundering for his part in a scheme to overbill Georgia Pacific, a manufacturing company out of Atlanta, and Hickory Springs Manufacturing Co. out of North Carolina.

COSTA MESA — The City Council on Tuesday halted an effort to establish a set of overall guidelines for traffic-calming in the city. The guidelines would not have mandated specific solutions to traffic problems, but some council members and residents thought it a waste of time for city staff to work on the guidelines since each issue will be looked at on a case-by-case basis. Mayor Allan Mansoor and council members Eric Bever and Wendy Leece voted to stop the traffic-calming study.