Commission Delays Decision on NB Harbor Fund

Byline: Ambrosia Brody NEWPORT BEACH — The State Lands Commission has agreed to hold off voting on the Newport Beach City Council’s request to create a Harbor Fund dedicated to pay for capital improvements in the harbor, after two elected officials submitted a request to postpone the decision. State Sen. Mimi Walters (R-Irvine) and Assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesta) asked Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom to delay the city’s call for the creation of the Harbor Fund, in order to have time to review how the money will be used and residents’ concerns about the plan. The commission agreed to delay a vote on the matter at its April 26 meeting. It is now scheduled for the commission’s June 21 meeting, said Sheri Pemberton, a spokeswoman for the State Lands Commission. The letter from elected officials was drafted at the request of the Newport Beach Dock Owners Association, a group of citizens and business owners who were behind the Stop the Dock Tax campaign. It has filed a lawsuit against the city of Newport Beach, alleging violations of California’s Brown Act, which mandates open meetings. In their April 5 letter, Assemblyman Mansoor and Sen. Walters requested that commissioners not make a decision on the creation of...