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Corona del Mar Today: Planners take on Ocean Blvd. lot merger

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Five months after the Planning Commission rejected a couple’s plans to merge two lots on Ocean Boulevard, the commission will again address the topic at its March 22 meeting.

But while city staff says the matter is being heard in a timely way, friends and family members of neighbors who could lose their views say they are concerned by the slow movement of the process.

In January, the Newport Beach City Council asked that the commission reexamine an Oct. 20 decision to reverse approval of the merger of lots at 2808 and 2812 Ocean Blvd.

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The lots’ owners plan to build a family home, but neighbors said they believe the home could violate a 1951 private agreement that protects the views of two Ocean Lane homes by restricting the homes in front to one story.

The lot merger first was approved by city staff in September and reversed a month later. The owners of the two lots, John and Julie Guida, appealed to the council, asking that they be allowed to have the merger reheard by the commission while presenting self-imposed restrictions that would ease concerns about the new home’s impact on the neighborhood.

The Guidas submitted information to city staff last week — less than a month from the council meeting, staff confirmed.

“[B]ut is too late for our staff to analyze it, write the staff report, properly notice it and get it on the upcoming [commission] agenda,” said Tara Finnigan, a Newport Beach city spokeswoman.

The Planning Commission’s next meeting will be March 8.

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Council approves lane removal

In a 6-1 vote at Tuesday’s council meeting, council members approved conceptual plans for a Corona del Mar entryway improvement.

The plan would remove a third lane at East Coast Highway near MacArthur Boulevard, converting the extra space to expanded sidewalks and landscape upgrades.

Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, the lone dissenter, said that she thought further studies were needed, and that she feared residents had no idea that they were going to lose a lane that many use to make a right turn onto Carnation Avenue to bypass traffic that often backs up in that area.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of opposition,” she said. “I want to support it. I think we need to do studies.”

Several residents spoke against the project, expressing concerns about traffic flow, losing the right turn lane onto Carnation and spending too much money on landscaping that would improve a limited area of Corona del Mar.

“It seems to me we have a town square at Marguerite [Avenue],” said Ron Hendrickson, a Newport Beach man who has expressed concerns about the project at several public meetings.

Former Newport Beach Planning Commissioner Robert Hawkins also spoke against the plans, saying that the project should be vetted by the commission and environmental studies should be conducted before it received council approval.

Detailed design costs for the project would be about $100,000, with construction estimates at $1.2 million and yearly maintenance costs expected to be $43,500. The council will consider funding the project when it discusses its 2012-13 budget.

Before construction begins, the project would be studied, including removing nine parking spaces and painting lanes to study how traffic flows with the new configuration. A similar study two years ago showed no traffic problems, staff said.

“We’re hopeful and we’re confident it will flow pretty well,” said Newport Beach Deputy Public Works Director Dave Webb.

Councilman Rush Hill, who was on the Citizens Advisory Panel that first developed the concept plans and approved them in December, said he was excited to move the project forward.

“I’m very supportive of the plans,” he said. “That’s not to say there aren’t issues to be resolved.”

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Scouts won’t decorate dolphins

The Girl Scouts will celebrate their 100th anniversary March 12 — but the Corona del Mar dolphins won’t be taking part of the celebrations.

The Girl Scouts Council of Orange County sent several requests to decorate the dolphin topiaries for the anniversary, but at a meeting this week, members of the Corona del Mar Business Improvement District (BID) voted 3 to 2 against the move.

According to draft minutes of the meeting, the BID’s policy for decorating the dolphins is limited to Valentine’s Day, spring, Fourth of July, autumn and the winter holidays. Some members said that by making an exception for Girl Scouts, it could open the door for other groups to seek dolphin decorations. In the end, the group decided to keep the current policy that limits the dolphin decorations.

BID member Ali Zadeh voted in favor of opening the decorations to other groups.

“I think it requires more understanding,” he said in an interview. “If there are any inquiries from anyone, it shouldn’t be a blanket no — it should be heard.”

An email seeking comment from the Girl Scouts group was not immediately answered. The offices were closed today, according to the group’s voicemail message.

amy@coronadelmartoday.com

Twitter: @coronadelmartdy

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