Council waits to discuss what to do with $5 million

A $5 million chunk of developer fees won’t be divvied up by Newport Beach just yet, in a reversal of an earlier City Council decision. The council voted July 24 to spend the funds from Lennar Homes on several city parks, with the highest priority being Newport Center Park.

An attorney for resident Bill Ficker questioned the decision as a possible violation of the Brown Act, because the council agenda had not said how the money would be spent. City Attorney Robin Clauson said the spending decision was not improper, but council members could remedy the alleged violation by rehearing the issue.

That’s what they did Tuesday, and they also postponed until Sept. 11 any discussion on what to do with the $5 million.

Had the council spent the money to build Newport Center Park, it could have thrown a wrench into a pending ballot measure — proposed by Ficker — that would build a city hall on the park site. The council has voted in favor of the park and against putting city hall there.

— Alicia Robinson