What Newport Beach is about to decide

The Newport Beach City Council meets Tuesday, October 13, 2026, roll call at 4:00 p.m., in the Council Chambers, 100 Civic Center Drive. A study session on sand loss at the city’s ocean-facing beaches, fourteen consent items, two public hearings, one current-business item 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 · Staff reports linked below are the Word documents posted on the city’s Legistar site · Written comments: cityclerk@newportbeachca.gov by 4:00 p.m. Monday · Zoom webinar ID 821 0439 2296

🏘 Public hearing: up to 78 homes at the Newport Beach Country Club

• What the council is asked to do: hold a public hearing and introduce Ordinance No. 2026-17, “Approving a Development Agreement for a 78-unit Residential Development for the Property located at 1 Clubhouse Drive (PA2025-0019),” and pass it to second reading on October 27, 2026. Staff ask the council to find no further environmental review is needed because the project is consistent with the previously certified Program Environmental Impact Report (SCH No. 2023060699). Item 15
• What it would — and would not — do: per the staff report, “No actual project or construction is proposed at this time.” The agreement “would provide the Applicant with the vested right to develop the Project for a term of five years.” Building would still need future approvals, including site development review and a tentative tract map before the Planning Commission. Staff note a development agreement “is not required” here; the applicant is requesting a voluntary one. Item 15
• The money: a public benefit fee of $128,205 per residential unit, due before the grading permit is issued and “inclusive of Park Fees and Development Impact Fees.” The city anticipates park fees of “approximately $60,000 per unit (approximately $4,680,000)” and impact fees of “roughly $9 per-square-foot of development (approximately $2,000,000)”; the remainder, “approximately $3,319,990,” “may be used for any public purpose at the discretion of the City Council.” Assuming all units are developed, the staff report puts the potential fee at $9,999,990 “before any CPI escalation is applied.” Traffic fair share and San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency fees would be paid separately. Item 15
• The site: the 128.49-acre country club property is designated Parks and Recreation in the General Plan, but the project area is Housing Opportunity Site ID No. 353 in the HO-4 (Newport Center Area) overlay, where, per the staff report, housing is allowed without a General Plan amendment. The Housing Element sized Site 353 at “0.84 acres in area (yielding between 16 and 42 units)”; staff say that figure was meant to show a realistic project and “the final design of the Project parcel could be larger,” subject to the HO-4 limit of 2,439 units and a density of 20 to 50 units per acre. Item 15
• The Planning Commission voted unanimously on September 17 (“5 ayes and 0 nays, with 2 absent/recused”) to recommend approval (Resolution No. PC2026-025); its draft minutes are attached. One written public comment, from a resident who lives across Santa Barbara Drive, asks the council to publish Site 353’s exact boundaries, gross acreage and density calculation before acting. Item 15

⚖ Five Crowns appeal and a Cliff Drive driveway

• Five Crowns appeal (public hearing): a de novo hearing on an appeal of the Planning Commission’s September 17 action confirming that the limited term permit for a temporary outdoor dining area with live entertainment at 3801 East Coast Highway (PA2023-0202) — voluntarily surrendered by the applicant, Lawry’s Restaurants Inc., effective December 2, 2025 — “has not been in force or effect” since, and that council Resolution No. 2025-18 “presents no live controversy.” Staff recommend denying the appeal with Resolution No. 2026-91. Per the staff report, the appellants say they “do not object” to confirming the permit is no longer in effect but want the resolution expanded; staff say their comments “primarily relate to the pending Conditional Use Permit application (PA2025-0208),” which “will be evaluated independently at a future public hearing with the Planning Commission,” and that “the City Council is being asked to confirm an action that has already taken place.” Item 16
• 2700 Cliff Drive driveway (current business): the property owner, proposing a new home with a three-car garage, asks the council to waive Council Policy L-2 (Driveway Approaches) so the garage could be reached from Riverside Avenue instead of the abutting 15-foot-wide alley. Staff recommend denial with Resolution No. 2026-92: per the staff report, the applicant’s own alley-access option “demonstrates that the proposed project can be configured with a three-car garage taking access from the alley,” and a Riverside driveway “would introduce a new curb opening along a frontage where on-street parking is otherwise available.” An alternative resolution granting the waiver is attached as the council’s other option. Item 17

💰 Contracts and money on consent

• $847,324 traffic signal contract: award of Contract No. 10209-1 to International Line Builders, Inc. (low of 12 bids) to rehabilitate the signals at San Miguel Drive and Port Sutton Drive and at San Miguel Drive and Spyglass Hill Road, add a pedestrian hybrid beacon on East Coast Highway at Orchid Avenue and two dynamic message signs on East Coast Highway, plus a $212,000 contingency (“approximately 25% of total bid”) that would also cover field exploration and “the purchase of the long lead-time equipment for a new four-way signal on Via Lido between the Lido Marina and Lido Plaza.” The staff report says staff were tasked with installing a new signal at Via Lido and Via Oporto “before the summer of 2027.” Item 8
• Fleet purchases: two Ford Transit vans from A-Z Bus Sales Inc. for $236,431, a Ram-Jet Vactor truck from Haaker Equipment for $658,800, a John Deere backhoe loader from Coastline Equipment of Long Beach for $181,422 and three Toyota Tacoma pickups from RP Automotive for $167,308, plus a $62,000 contingency. Per the staff report, the vans (with wheelchair lifts) would be funded by a $217,800 Orange County Transportation Authority grant with the remaining $18,631 from the Rolling Equipment account; the Vactor truck is used for sewer-line cleaning; the pickups are beach-response vehicles; and the backhoe is “an additional fleet asset” approved in the budget rather than a replacement. Item 10
• Crean Mariners Branch Library fire sprinklers: Contract No. 10165-1 to Elegant Construction Inc. for $352,500, plus a $35,000 contingency, to replace “corroded and failing overhead fire sprinkler lines.” Per the staff report, the bid was “approximately 41% above the engineer’s estimate of $250,000,” and work is tentatively scheduled from December 19, 2026 to January 16, 2027, a window coordinated “for closure of the facility.” Item 7
• Hearing officers: an exception to bidding for a $187,500 agreement with Alvarez-Glasman & Colvin for hearing adjudication services through June 30, 2028. Per the staff report, hearing requests have exceeded projections, “largely due to appeals of administrative citations issued during the heightened enforcement period associated with the Fourth of July Safety Enhancement Zone.” Item 11
• Plumbing: Amendment No. Three raising Verne’s Plumbing, Inc.’s on-call agreement to a new not-to-exceed $350,000 (“by $100,000, from $250,000,” per the staff report), and terminating Pacific Plumbing of Southern California’s agreement “due to its failure to respond to service requests or provide quotes.” Item 9
• Witte Hall closeout: accept the completed lecture hall and file a Notice of Completion for Contract No. 7444-3 with AMG & Associates, Inc. The staff report lists a final contract amount of $20,498,664 against an awarded $19,068,000 (“approximately 7.5% higher”); the contractor “submitted over $2,900,000 in change order requests” that were settled at $1,316,213, and the project was substantially completed June 25, 2026, “six months after the original contract completion date.” The Library Foundation of Newport Beach “committed to funding 50% of the total project costs,” and the meeting opens with the presentation of a “$12.5 Million Check from the Library Foundation of Newport Beach for Witte Hall.” Item 6

📜 Policies, grants and appointments on consent

• Contracting and settlement authority (Resolution No. 2026-89): amends Council Policy F-14 to show the CPI-adjusted thresholds — “$125,000 for the city manager and $78,000 for department directors” — and lets the administrative services director make future CPI-only updates without a council vote. Per the staff report, it would also write in claims authority approved with the FY 2026-27 budget (the city manager and risk manager could resolve general claims and litigation up to 40 percent and 30 percent, respectively, of the city’s applicable self-insured retention, or their contracting authority, whichever is greater) and let the city manager settle workers’ compensation matters “notwithstanding other monetary limitations in the policy,” with written notice to the council at least 10 calendar days ahead for settlements above the city manager’s general-claims authority. Item 4
• Trash franchise hearing: Resolution No. 2026-87 would set an October 27, 2026 public hearing on granting a non-exclusive commercial solid waste franchise to OC Construction & Clean Up Corp.; per the staff report, franchisees pay the city 16% of quarterly gross receipts. Item 2
• Abandoned-boat grant: Resolution No. 2026-90 accepts a $50,000 state Surrendered and Abandoned Vessel Exchange (SAVE) grant, with Budget Amendment No. 27-026 appropriating $50,000 and $5,000 to Abandoned Watercraft Abatement. The staff report says the state notified the city that “grant funding would be further reduced”; the previous 2025-2027 award was $100,000. Item 5
• Literacy grant: accept $46,456 from California Library Literacy Services for the library’s Project Adult Literacy program, with Budget Amendment No. 27-024 (staff report). Item 12
• Pinktober ambulance: Resolution No. 2026-88 authorizes use of the city seal on a Fire Department ambulance that Hoag would wrap in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month; the staff report values Hoag’s donated wrap at $13,000. Item 3
• Finance Committee: appoint Brinson Lingenfelter to an unscheduled vacancy, for a term expiring June 30, 2028. Per the staff report, the nominee was chosen by the council’s ad hoc appointments committee (Mayor Lauren Kleiman, Mayor Pro Tem Noah Blom and Councilmember Sara J. Weber) from 11 new applications. Item 13
• Visit Newport Beach: receive and file the destination-marketing contractor’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, which the staff report says carry a “clean” audit opinion from Crowe LLP. Visit Newport Beach receives 23% of the city’s Transient Occupancy Tax revenue from hotel stays and reported $7.4 million in service fee revenue from the city in FY 2025-26. Item 14
• Minutes: the September 22 regular and September 18 special meetings. The draft September 22 minutes record the Bonita Creek Park athletic field turf award as “Pulled by staff; continued to the October 13, 2026 City Council meeting”; no Bonita Creek item appears on the posted October 13 agenda. Item 1

🏖 Study session, future agendas and closed session

• Study session: staff will present an update on the city’s ocean-facing beaches “following concerns about sand loss,” covering the history of sand nourishment and shoreline structures, current conditions and “proposed plans and ongoing efforts to replenish sand in selected shoreline areas.” No action is listed.
• Future-agenda requests from Councilmember Erik Weigand (non-discussion items): reviewing the city’s Integrated Pest Management Policy and “exploring to eliminate the spraying of synthetic herbicides in parks and greenbelt areas citywide,” and “implementing fixed security cameras at the harbor entrance,” seeking assistance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Coast Guard and Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
• Closed session: one anticipated-litigation matter and five existing cases — three titled Newport Beach Stewardship Association v. City of Newport Beach (Case No. 30-2024-01428295, with California Court of Appeals Case No. G065816; Case No. 30-2026-01572799; and Case No. 30-2026-01579137), 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

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.