City has vision for Mariners Mile

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- Mariners Mile gets called all sorts of names. They

range from “the city’s eyesore” to “just another strip.”

City leaders hope the area’s Cinderella status might change soon.

After years of planning and designing guidelines to clean up the mile, a

new strategic vision and design framework is expected to become effective

in the near future.

The Planning Commission on Thursday postponed approval of the document

that outlines the vision until its next meeting. The city plans to add

the Lower Castaways to the area that stretches along Coast Highway from

the Arches Bridge to the Back Bay Bridge, and property owners in that

section had not been notified about the proposed changes.

Once the commission signs off on the document, the City Council will

have to discuss it at two meetings before approving it.

“What we’re trying to achieve here is a policy document, a strategic

vision,” said Sharon Z. Wood, assistant city manager. She added that

future developments and some renovation projects along the mile would be

reviewed against the new guidelines.

Keenan E. Smith, an architect and urban planner who worked on the

framework, said the proposal would not drastically change the area.

Instead, “what we’ve attempted to do is a comprehensive and thoughtful

document that will shape a positive vision for Mariners Mile,” Smith

said.

Crucial elements of the framework include unifying the area by putting

up entry signs on the bridges and installing nautical-themed street signs

along the mile.

“Mariners Village,” from Riverside to Tustin avenues, would become the

mile’s focal point. The proposal encourages the development of a shopping

center with a focus on an upscale market, cafes, theaters and specialty

retail.

Palm trees and hedges along the highway would give a unifying look to

the mile, Smith said.

In the long term, the city also would work toward creating a

waterfront walk to give residents access to the bay.

“A bayfront walk would be an incredible change to Mariners Mile,”

Commissioner Michael C. Kranzley said. “We’ve been very successful in

Newport Beach in hiding our bay from everyone.”

Kranzley questioned plans for shared valet parking that would serve

the area’s restaurants, adding that he’d like to consider public

transportation, such as trolley cars used in Santa Barbara.

But Smith said the city and Orange County in general are less inclined

to leave cars behind.

“It occurred to us that valeting in Newport Beach is about as natural

as walking around in flip-flops,” he said.

Councilwoman Norma Glover, who attended the meeting, said she was

eager to see the document move forward.

“Business and community groups have been working on it for three

years,” said Glover, whose District 3 includes Mariners Mile. “It will

take four or five years to make Mariners Mile as beautiful and as good as

some of the other areas in Newport Beach. I do believe it can happen. But

it needs a lot of focus and attention.”