What Newport Beach is about to decide
The Newport Beach City Council meets Tuesday, September 22, 2026, roll call at 4:00 p.m., in the Council Chambers, 100 Civic Center Drive. Fifteen consent items, one current-business item, one public hearing and a closed session on litigation. These are pending decisions from the posted agenda — nothing below has been approved yet. Every item links to the official record.
Source: official agenda (PDF) · meeting page · Written comments: cityclerk@newportbeachca.gov by 4:00 p.m. Monday
✅ What actually passed (per the draft minutes): The city’s draft minutes of the September 22 meeting (a Word document attached to Item 1 of the October 13 agenda for approval; not yet adopted) record all seven council members present. Councilmember Stapleton “announced a recusal on Item 8 due to a financial conflict of interest, as his clients own EwasteDisposal, Inc.,” and “Item 11 was pulled by staff for return to the October 13th agenda.” The council then adopted the consent calendar 7-0, excluding Item 11, on a motion by Mayor Pro Tem Blom, seconded by Councilmember Barto — including the second readings of Ordinance No. 2026-15 (the “Public Safety Orders and Regulation of Large Gatherings” package amending the safety-enhancement-zone, minor’s-curfew and special-events rules) and Ordinance No. 2026-16 (the Police Department military-equipment-use policy), the $4,506,801.18 Axon amendment for Skydio drones and body-worn cameras (Item 6), the $262,500 additional loan for the Avon River Homekey supportive-housing conversion (Item 13), and the $328,078 Eastbluff Drive design agreement (Item 7), the $185,000 rate study (Item 9), the $497,000 traffic-safety grant (Item 14) and the other consent items. The $2,445,000 Bonita Creek Park turf award (Item 11) was not acted on: the minutes list it as “Pulled by staff; continued to the October 13, 2026 City Council meeting.” (It does not appear on the posted October 13 agenda.) Resolution No. 2026-86, the 180-day wait-period exception to appoint retired annuitant Justin Carr for Assistant Fire Chief services, passed 7-0 (Item 16; Grant/Blom), and the council approved the Program Year 2025-26 CDBG CAPER 7-0 for submission to HUD (Item 17; Blom/Grant). The City Attorney reported no closed-session action. See also the official meeting page and vote record.
Correction (October 8, 2026): an earlier version of this section said the 7-0 consent vote included the $2,445,000 Bonita Creek Park turf award (Item 11). That was wrong. The Legistar vote record we relied on shows a single consent-calendar motion without the exclusion; the city’s draft minutes, attached to the October 13 agenda, show staff pulled Item 11 before the vote and it was continued. The contract has not been awarded. The earlier version also omitted Councilmember Stapleton’s recusal on Item 8. We regret the error.
The headline: two ordinances come up for adoption on consent — Ordinance No. 2026-15, adding a “Public Safety Orders and Regulation of Large Gatherings” chapter and amending the safety enhancement zone, minor’s curfew and special-events rules “to Address Illegal Activity and Public Safety During High-Risk Periods and Other Significant Crowd Events,” and Ordinance No. 2026-16 updating the Police Department’s military equipment use policy. The biggest dollar item is a $4,506,801.18 amendment to the Axon agreement for Skydio drones and body-worn cameras; the biggest construction award is $2,445,000 to Los Angeles Engineering Inc. for new turf at Bonita Creek Park.
📜 Ordinances and resolutions for adoption
- Ordinance No. 2026-15 (second reading): amends Section 1.04.010 (Safety Enhancement Zone), amends Chapter 10.36 (Minor’s Curfew), adds Chapter 10.80 (Public Safety Orders and Regulation of Large Gatherings) and amends Section 11.03.020 of the special-events chapter. The agenda title says it is “to Address Illegal Activity and Public Safety During High-Risk Periods and Other Significant Crowd Events”; a redline of the code is attached. Item 2
- Ordinance No. 2026-16 (second reading): “Updating the Military Equipment Use Policy for the Newport Beach Police Department,” with a redline of the policy attached. Item 3
- Resolution No. 2026-84 amends the records retention schedule and authorizes destruction of certain records. Item 4
- Resolution No. 2026-85 eliminates one full-time Management Fellow position in the City Manager’s Office and adds one full-time Assistant Management Analyst in the Municipal Operations Department. Item 5
- Resolution No. 2026-86 (current business): a 180-day wait-period exception under Government Code Sections 7522.56 and 21224 to appoint retired annuitant Justin Carr as an extra-help retired annuitant, with a post-retirement temporary employment agreement “for Assistant Fire Chief Services” running October 5 through December 25, 2026. Item 16
💰 Contracts and money on consent
- $4,506,801.18 Axon amendment: Amendment No. Three to the purchase, installation and maintenance agreement with Axon Enterprise, Inc. of Scottsdale, Arizona “for Skydio drones and related products and services and 14 additional body worn cameras,” not to exceed that amount, plus Budget Amendment No. 27-017 appropriating $283,011.55 and $23,934.88 from the unappropriated General Fund balance. Item 6
- $2,445,000 Bonita Creek Park turf: award of Contract No. 9890-2 to Los Angeles Engineering Inc. for the athletic field turf replacement, after finding the bid from Moalej Builders, Inc. non-responsive; a separate purchase agreement with FieldTurf USA, Inc. for the synthetic turf materials not to exceed $1,177,255.72; and a $244,500 contingency (10% of the bid). Item 11
- $328,078 professional services agreement with BKF Engineers of Newport Beach for Eastbluff Drive pavement rehabilitation design (Contract No. 10184-1). Item 7
- $185,000 two-year agreement with Water Resources Economics, LLC for a water, wastewater and recycled-water rate study. The agenda lists no rate changes. Item 9
- $159,380 five-year agreement with T & G Global, LLC dba St. Nick’s Christmas Lighting and Decor for holiday decorations at the Civic Center, Central Library, Marina Park, OASIS Senior Center, Newport Coast Community Center and Community Youth Center. Item 10
- EwasteDisposal, Inc.: Amendment No. One to the on-call agreement for disposal of asbestos cement pipe and other hazardous items, raising the contract to a total not-to-exceed $200,000 and extending it two years to October 31, 2028. (The agenda text prints the increase as “$80,0000.”) Item 8
- $497,000 Selective Traffic Enforcement Program grant (PT27109) from the California Office of Traffic Safety to the Police Department, with Budget Amendment No. 27-020 in the same amount. Item 14
🏠 Housing and property
- $262,500 more for the Avon River Homekey project: Amendment No. One to the affordable housing loan agreement with American Family Housing, LLC, lending an additional $262,500 from the city’s Affordable Housing Fund “to convert the property at 1400 Bristol Street, Costa Mesa, into permanent supportive housing,” with Budget Amendment No. 27-025 appropriating the same amount from the Affordable Housing, Restricted Programs fund balance. Item 13
- 1201 Dove Street: a third amendment to the lease with Secada Medical, LLC (dba Ventris Medical) for city-owned office Suites 400, 470 and 485. The agenda states no rent figure. Item 12
📣 Public hearing and closed session
- CDBG year-end report: a hearing on the Program Year 2025-26 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER), then approval and submission to HUD. Item 17
- Closed session: two anticipated-litigation matters (initiation of litigation), and two existing cases — City of Newport Beach v. Newport Beach Stewardship Association & Newport Beach Stewardship Association v. Lena Shumway et al. (Case No. 30-2026-01559183) and City of Newport Beach et al. v. Robert Page et al. (Case No. 30-2026-01580961). Items 18–19
- Also on consent: minutes of the September 8 regular and September 11 special meetings, and the Planning Commission’s September 17 agenda, received and filed. Items 1, 15
Council Brief summaries are produced from official public records by our automated newsroom and reviewed before publication. Items are described as posted; the council may amend, continue, or remove items at the meeting. Spot an error? hello@councilbrief.com — we publish corrections.
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