Newport to set stand on political issues

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- City Council members are expected tonight to adopt

this year’s legislative platform -- which will set the city’s stand on

issues ranging from aviation to zoning laws.

The platform, revised each year, addresses issues that are expected to

come up in state or federal legislatures. It allows city officials to

react quickly to pending legislation, said Deputy City Manager Dave Kiff.

“The legislative platform says, ‘Here’s what we oppose, here’s what we

support,”’ Kiff said. “We can take a position consistent with the

platform without having to . . . put it on a [City] Council agenda.”

High on the list this year is support for legislation regarding

electricity and natural gas as a result of the state’s energy crisis.

In a section titled “fiscal stability,” the proposed platform states

that the city shall “advocate for a stable, safe, and economical supply

of electricity and natural gas provided by either investor-owned

utilities or public sector providers.”

Kiff said the addition aims to protect the city, as well as its

residents, from escalating electricity bills.

“It’s to try and help us deal with what we suspect will be rapid

legislation on electricity,” Kiff said.

Another issue expected to keep the city’s lobbyists busy is a bill to

keep existing local coastal programs in place when a city annexes a

territory.

The city has pushed for this legislation in Sacramento to guarantee

the construction of an additional 825 homes in Newport Coast. The

development could be jeopardized under the current situation. Unlike

Orange County, Newport Beach does not have a local coastal program, which

allows local government agencies to issue permits for developments in the

state’s coastal zone -- an area overseen by the California Coastal

Commission.

Other issues of concern include bay protection and environmental

quality, and preserving, extending or re-creating flight caps of the 1985

John Wayne Airport settlement agreement, which is set to expire in 2005.

While the city spends more than $100,000 each year to lobby

legislators, Kiff said the city’s influence is limited.

“In the grand scheme of things, when Newport Beach speaks, not

everybody listens,” he said.

Because Newport Beach has a deeply Republican electorate, the city’s

clout with legislators also depends on the party in power, Kiff said.

While getting support for legislation and state funds in

Democratic-controlled Sacramento “is a challenge,” the incoming

Republican administration in Washington, D.C., could prove beneficial,

Kiff said.