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The Planning Commission Study Session for the Koll Center Residences project, previously scheduled for Nov. 8, has been postponed and due to an unscheduled vacancy on the Commission, Newport Beach city officials announced this week. In a message shared on Wednesday, city...

It seems that most projects and remodels in this town are built by exception . . . exception to the existing General Plan and Zoning Codes. Why is that? Why do we bother with plans, codes and a building department? All we really need is a big red rubber stamp that ...

The key concern which unites Newport Beach residents now is over-development.  Most of the other problems engender from this one main problem-traffic, pollution, safety issues, expansion of Pacific Coast Highway, code and General Plan noncompliance and lack of civility and trust...

Newport Beach City Council discussed potential changes, including some increases, for life safety services fees during a study session this week. Following a consulting company’s study and resulting recommendations, as well as review from the Finance Committee, on the fees,...

I couldn’t believe it when I looked at the “Birdseye Perspective” of the Koll Center Residences on the City of Newport Beach web site. In addition to the other problems with this massive project, it is completely out of character with the surrounding buildings with its size and...

Exactly five years after submitting their proposal for a boutique hotel on the old Newport Beach city hall site, the Lido House Hotel opened its doors to the public. The “Newport nautical” architecture and design of the property, described as Cape Cod with a Newport Beach twist,...

A proposal for a new Newport Beach Junior Lifeguard facility, to replace the old portable trailers the program currently uses near the Balboa Pier on the peninsula, was the highlight of a lifeguard focused forum this week. About two dozen local business owners and residents heard...

After five years in the making, Lido House Hotel, the boutique hotel located on the old Newport Beach city hall site on the Balboa Peninsula, is open. “Welcome to the Lido House,” Bob Olson, CEO of R.D. Olson Development, the company that built the hotel, said as he welcomed a...

As the dust finally settles on the Museum House condominium tower, so does the city on two lawsuits related to the controversial project. Following a closed session on Feb. 27, Newport Beach City Council unanimously approved a settlement agreement that included the Orange County...

Bookworms and firefighters may be sharing space in Corona del Mar as early as summer 2019, following a Newport Beach City Council decision this week.   Council members unanimously agreed to move forward with the on-again, off-again CdM library branch and fire station combo...

Parking, an evergreen topic in Newport Beach, once again reached the City Council dais this week, but this time it brought a private dispute between two companies along with it. In October, the Planning Commission approved a Conditional Use Permit submitted by DJM Capital...

The Newport Beach Planning Commission was scheduled to hold a public hearing last week on the planned renovations for the 90-year-old Balboa Theater, but the item was unexpectedly removed from the agenda. Discussion of the proposal, submitted by the Balboa Theater Company, LLC,...

NOTE: Indy reporter Sara Hall compiled this look back at what made headlines in the NB Independent during 2017. This week, we cover January through June. (click the first line of text in each brief to read the full, original story)   January   A Huntington Beach man was...

Newport Beach City Council got the ball rolling Tuesday on the General Plan update, but slowed the roll down to a crawl in an effort to be transparent, engage and inform the community, and take their time considering a potential update. The General Plan provides the policy basis...

Local builder C.W. Driver Companies has broken ground on Newport Harbor Medical Plaza, a 26,500-square-foot medical facility at 330 Old Newport Blvd., according to a press release. The Newport Beach facility near Hoag Memorial Presbyterian Hospital will feature ocean views and...

Newport Beach-based Lifescapes International has been selected to design the landscape environment for the recently announced $245 million development of the Westin Anaheim Resort, a four-diamond resort by local Orange County developer Wincome Group. Lifescapes is known for...

Discussion got tense this week during an informational meeting by a developer working on a project in the airport district. Shopoff Group presented Koll Center Residences to about 50 people on Monday in the Friends Meeting Room of Newport Beach Central Library. Koll Residences is...

Peninsula Trolley Options Also on Agenda The Balboa Village Advisory Committee may seek to reallocate up to $40,000 in leftover funds originally earmarked for the Commercial Facade Improvement Program in coming months. The program is currently still ongoing. Associate Planner...

In a message distributed on Wednesday, Newport Beach city staff invited residents to an upcoming public hearing about the Koll Center Residences, a 260-unit mixed-use infill residential and retail development at Birch Street and Von Karman Avenue in Newport Beach. Staff asked the...

Seimone Jurjis, the new Community Development Director for the city, is described as a problem-solver who puts service first. “He’s a person who can help you solve a problem,” offered former mayor and Civic Affairs Council President Rush Hill. “That’s his attitude, he’s there to...