City narrowing down committee hopefuls

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- Tom Hyans, Marian Bergeson, Evelyn Hart and Phil

Bettencourt are just a few of 52 community members who made the first cut

to serve on the city’s General Plan Advisory Committee.

“What I think is most important is a good mix, diversity of opinion on

that committee,” said City Councilman Steve Bromberg, one of 11 officials

on the General Plan Update Committee who are charged with making

appointments to the advisory committee.

Members of the update committee, which includes slow-growth advocate

Allan Beek, Planning Commissioner Mike Kranzley and City Councilman Gary

Adams, on Monday pored over nominees selected from 253 applicants

categorized by age, neighborhood and areas of expertise. The City Council

will get the final word on which ones will serve on the 32- to 37-member

committee.

“We have some very, very qualified people,” Kranzley said. “It’s a

great group. I was really pleased with the level of knowledge and level

enthusiasm of people putting applications.”

Officials have been pleasantly surprised by the high levels of

interest community members have shown in the general plan update process,

calling it evidence that they’re effectively communicating the importance

of the project.

The general plan, a far-reaching document that details every major

aspect of the city’s future, was last revised in 1988. It sets guidelines

for development, harbor use, traffic, tourism and many other factors in

the city’s future.

The advisory committee will meet at least six times before midsummer

to lay out its recommendations for the revised document. The process will

eventually culminate in a “community congress” to complete the document

with as much resident input as possible and a City Council vote on the

revisions.

Then, as a final step, residents must go to the polls to vote on the

document. This is necessary because the city’s Greenlight law requires

voter approval of any major amendments to the city’s general plan. Though

Greenlight was approved to give voters a say in specific development

projects, most observers agree that its scope extends to revising the

general plan document itself.