Newport Beach took another step Tuesday toward converting part of the city’s public works yard on Superior Avenue into a homeless shelter.
The City Council’s decision to refine plans and budget $300,000 for facility design to make storage structures at the yard inhabitable came over dozens of objections from area residents.
The 4-1 vote — with Councilwoman Joy Brenner dissenting, Councilman Brad Avery abstaining and Councilman Marshall “Duffy” Duffield absent — also declared a “shelter crisis,” allowing the city to waive zoning and development standards that would normally apply to a shelter project.
Tuesday’s move doesn’t commit Newport Beach to the site at 592 Superior, near the Newport-Costa Mesa border. The city is still in talks with Costa Mesa to partner on that city’s upcoming shelter near John Wayne Airport. And Newport is still in lease negotiations with representatives of a privately owned rental car lot, also near the airport.
Read the full story at LATimes.com.