The Daily Pilot today provides the Newport Beach community its first glimpse of the exciting Master Plan for the upgrade and renewal of the Golf Club and Tennis Club at Newport Beach Country Club.A couple of highlights worth noting punctuate the story by Daily Pilot staffer Alicia Robinson, which you can read here. The first is the Pilot's publication of two compelling renderings of the elegant yet understated California Mediterranean architecture of the proposed Golf Clubhouse, one of the centerpiece elements of the Golf and Tennis Club Master Plan. The design is a classic Wallace Neff-style homage to Early California.
Two other points in the story are worth cheering.
Robinson reports that Robert O Hill - the controlling landowner of the Tennis Club and Golf Club property - confirms that the property is not for sale and that he "has vowed not to sell."
"First of all, I don't sell properties," O Hill told Robinson. "And, second, this is something that has a great emotional attachment for me."
The second bit of good news is Newport Beach Mayor Steve Rosansky's encouraging indication that the Tennis Club property could be losing its luster where the City is concerned.
"As we've looked further into the property, it's becoming less and less likely that we're going to pursue that property - I think that's the bottom line," the mayor told Robinson.
We believe Mayor Rosansky's sentiment is the right one. The opportunity to renew the Golf Club and Tennis Club at Newport Beach Country Club with beautiful and elegant new facilities is exceedingly more attractive and beneficial for Newport Beach - we believe - than a new City Hall on the property.
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Register reports on Newport's eminent domain threat
The Orange County Register today kicks off its reporting on the City of Newport Beach's potential use of eminent domain against the Tennis Club property. You can read Register staffer Jeff Overley's story - appearing on Page 3 of today's Local news section - here.
Worth noting is Councilmember Don Webb's comments regarding the sensitivity of seizing property through eminent domain.
"Condemnation is extremely sensitive," Webb tells Overley. "You have to go through an appraisal process, go through negotiations, make an offer." Webb's trinomial equation is probably right. The problem is, at least one part of that equation isn't even in play if O Hill's comments to the Daily Pilot's Robinson are any indication. When the landowner says the property is not for sale, then what is there to negotiate?
Also interesting in Overley's report is the extent to which the City has exercised the power of eminent domain in the past. Previous land takings by the City, according to Overley's report, include the condemnation of two Santa Ana Heights homes, the condemnation of three mobile homes to widen Pacific Coast Highway, and the taking of property for a new parking lot.
It's these kinds of government actions - we believe - that ignited Newport Beach voters to pass Measure W by nearly an 8 to 2 margin.
Protect Newport Beach County Club! has seen the architectural renderings of the proposed new Tennis Clubhouse that's central to the Master Plan for the Golf Club and Tennis Club at Newport Beach Country Club.The proposed Tennis Clubhouse design mirrors the classic California Mediterranean stylings of the Golf Clubhouse element in the Master Plan. Together, the two central elements of the Master Plan create a spectacular presentation that transforms the entire property into a world-class golf and tennis amenity. We believe the Master Plan will help ensure that Newport Beach remains the home of the Toshiba Classic, and can once again be the home of Davis Cup and other professional tennis events.
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