What does it take to keep Newport Beach running at full speed? It takes teams of people in city government and services, including police and fire departments, lifeguards, libraries, schools, and hospitals, to ensure that our community’s infrastructure is the best it can be.
The Newport Beach Police Department’s history dates back nearly 100 years. Newport’s first City Hall was located east of the Newport Pier. The Police Department used several offices in City Hall until they moved to their own building on Court Avenue.
Various Marshals headed the Newport Beach Police Department until 1928, when Rowland R. Hodgkinson was appointed the first Chief of the department. He retired in 1952 after 25 years of service, which at the time was the longest tenure of any police chief in California.
John Upson then served as chief for nine years, followed by B. James Glavas, a former captain with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Many changes occurred within the department between 1961 and 1977 under Glavas’ command. The Police Department moved from City Hall on 32nd Street to a new building on Santa Barbara Drive in 1974 and installed its first computer-aided dispatch system in 1976.
Now, more than 50 years later, the NBPD is still using the same building on Santa Barbara Drive, and it’s showing its age. An upgrade is sorely needed. Exactly what that upgrade will be is currently a subject of debate within the community and the City Council.
The City of Newport Beach has launched a new website to help keep residents informed as it evaluates potential sites for the future Newport Beach Police Headquarters.
According to a press release from the City of Newport Beach, the website, www.NewportBeachPoliceHQ.com, provides the latest information on the site evaluation process, outlines opportunities for community engagement, and serves as a central hub for meeting materials and project updates.
It includes an overview of why the City is planning for a future police headquarters, along with side-by-side comparisons of the current sites under consideration.
Options, as described on the website, include remodeling and expanding the existing Santa Barbara Drive headquarters, a City-owned Dove Street property, privately owned land near the Civic Center, and a preliminary Civic Center campus concept.
Discussions at City Council meetings began months ago, when council members considered options for replacing the aging NBPD building. Community responses were also heard through letters to the City Council, letters to the editor of the NB Indy and other publications, and public comments at City Council meetings. There was also a debate on the topic between Mayor Pro Tem Noah Blom and former Mayor Keith Curry at a Speak Up Newport meeting.
How much the City needs a new police building is clear from the new website. Today’s Headquarters, which sits on four acres and shares space with an adjacent Fire Department facility, was designed for 150 employees and now serves 238 personnel and handles 93,000+ calls annually.
According to the NewportBeachPoliceHQ website, the current evaluation process is the result of five years of facility assessments and operational reviews on how best to support Newport Beach’s long-term public safety needs. The City’s evaluation found that the current Police Department headquarters no longer meets the operational, technological, space, and infrastructure needs of a modern public safety facility.
With that in mind, City leaders initiated a comprehensive evaluation of potential sites in 2025, including feasibility, cost, and design considerations for a new police headquarters facility.
According to the website, the evaluation process is still in its early stages and is expected to take several years. Additional analysis, community engagement, environmental review, and future City Council consideration will occur before any potential design or construction activities begin.
Although multiple options are under review, the website emphasizes that no preferred option has been selected and no final decisions have been made; however, based on community responses and City Council comments, the Civic Center site is the main topic of discussion.
According to the website, the Sculpture Exhibition remains an important feature of the Civic Center’s “museum without walls.” While nothing has been approved or finalized, preliminary concepts for this site place the headquarters closest to the Civic Center’s entry, affecting only the southernmost portion of the park. There are currently no plans to remove any sculptures or park elements in the remainder of the park, including the rabbit statues commonly known as “Bunnyhenge.” If the project moves forward, any future changes would be considered through concept refinement, environmental review and public input.
Police Headquarters Advisory Committee
Last June, the City established the Police Headquarters Advisory Committee, comprised of three City Councilmembers (Sara J. Weber, Noah Blom and Michelle Barto) and four Newport Beach residents (Tom Maloney, Sandra Meadows, Bob Olson and Paul Watkins). The committee, which includes residents with backgrounds in construction, development, and real estate finance, is tasked with evaluating locations, design, and budget for a future police headquarters facility and providing recommendations to the City Council for their consideration.
The committee held its first meeting on July 7, 2026. All committee meetings are open to the public and provide an opportunity for the City to gather community input and perspectives to help inform future discussions and decision-making. The committee acts in an advisory role and does not make final decisions for the City.
At that initial meeting, the committee was provided with a history of the NBPD along with information on hiring an architectural design consultant, an environmental consultant, and a communications consultant.
At the subsequent meeting on July 21, the committee reviewed the options for the current 870 Santa Barbara site. A motion was made and approved by a 5-0 vote (two committee members were absent) to recommend that the City Council not spend additional resources studying the current location.
The next committee meeting is scheduled for September 2.
City Council Weighs In
At the July 28 City Council meeting, there were several agreements and contracts having to do with the police headquarters that were recommended for approval:
- Approval of Professional Services Agreement with LPA, Inc. for Police Headquarters Architectural Services
- Professional Services Agreement with EPD Solutions, Inc. for Preparation of a Subsequent EIR Related to the Possible Relocation of the Police Headquarters to the Civic Center Campus
- Professional Services Agreement for On-Call Police Station Strategic Communications with Westbound Communications, Inc
Councilmember Robyn Grant pulled those items and requested a verbal staff report so the public knew what they were voting for. City Manager Seimone Jurjis explained that there are a lot of questions about the Civic Center site.
“It is a complex site with habitat, with species,” explained Jurjis. “There are a lot of topography issues. If we are going to consider the Civic Center site, we are going to need some help. We’re going to need some consultants.”
Jurjis stated that they do not know whether a police station could fit on that site, so they need an expert to provide a conceptual design.
The agreement with Westbound Communications will be to communicate what the city is working on, including town halls and ad hoc committee meetings.
After extensive public comments and questions on the agreements, all three passed.
Community Responses
Over the past few months, letters both supporting the idea of placing the new police headquarters in the Civic Center park and against the Civic Center location have been sent to the city council as well as local publications.
One group of concerned citizens have come together to create a website: www.SaveCivicCenterPark.com.
The website’s goal is to protect Newport Beach’s Civic Center Park. Residents can use the website to stay informed, participate in the public process, and advocate for preserving this cherished community space. The website states, “help us safeguard one of our most treasured parks by urging city officials to seek better alternatives. Let’s help keep it a legacy for all future generations to enjoy.”
The website contains information on the city’s process and ways concerned citizens can get involved.
“We are a group of concerned citizens who started out as an email group and then a text group,” explained group member Lauren Graf. “We’re just a group of citizens who agree that our police deserve the best new station they can get, and we also don’t feel like we should have to sacrifice the park for them to have that.”
“Anyone who’s driven on San Miguel or Avocado around 4 to 6 p.m. knows how crazy and crowded it is there, and to have a police station there sounded so ridiculous,” added Graf. “I didn’t believe it when I first heard about it because it doesn’t make any sense. The park is unique. It’s an integral part of the city. That’s where it’s just so confusing—why we have to sacrifice that in order to have this new headquarters when there are two much more appropriate locations for it.”
A challenge that Graf and others face is being unable to attend city council or advisory committee meetings due to the start times (often 3 or 4 p.m.) when people are at work or picking up kids from school.
While the SaveCivicCenterPark website is relatively new, the group already has 60 people on its email list, and that number is growing daily.
Contact saveciviccenterpark@gmail.com for more information and to add your name to their email list.
