Save Newport Real News in Newport Beach
Did you know that newly elected councilwoman Diane Dixon has proclaimed the entire peninsula area as a “nuisance area” and a “crime problem”– both of which require disclosures according to the California Bureau of Real Estate?
What do you think that will do to the value of homes in and near the Balboa Peninsula area?
FACT #1: Last year, Newport’s crime rate was the lowest in the history of Newport Beach!
FACT #2: If you broke off Balboa from the rest of the city, Balboa dropped by 15% and the rest of the city by 9%. This means Balboa crime is falling over 50% faster than the rest of the city. The city– when you include Balboa– dropped over 10% last year.
FACT #3: Newport Beach already has the highest number of police per-capita out of any other city in the entirety of Orange County.
FACT #4: Our unfunded pension liabilities had about 6 years left before restructuring last year. Now, we have about 9 years before they begin causing significant problems.
FACT #5: Adding police to any area will increase reported crime. (No police officer will come back and say “Great news, Sergeant! No crime today!”)
FACT #6: Dixon proclaimed this as part of her “Lights Out” movement as one of three solutions. We have already implemented one of these. Why are we even talking about another? Here’s the quote from her:
FACT #7: Dixon has proclaimed the peninsula as the worst crime area in Newport Beach. She bases this on taking the crime from our 11,000 residents and the 10,000,000 tourists per year, and pinning all of that crime on merely the 11,000 residents– a misleading stat, to say the least.
FACT #8: Crime continues to drop on the peninsula, and bars continue to become more proactive in policing not just their own establishments, but the entire community. This Memorial Day Weekend– typically a hotspot for crime– saw arrest rates below even the average weekends (data since Mar16). In total, we had 18 arrests on between Friday and Sunday, when we normally see 23– and this is on a three-day weekend!
FACT #9: Until last Friday, these police were going to be dedicated to monitoring and enforcing against bars and restaurants. Now, all of a sudden, they are going to be enforcing “boardwalk issues”. Let’s pretend that we believe that for a moment. Are we going to be spending $800,000 per year so that police can radar bicycles going over 8mph, ticket skateboarding children, and tell grown adults to wear helmets? That’s the scenario if this usage is truthful.
FACT #10: This tends to go along with #9– if they force Surreys off the boardwalk and into the road– can you imagine what that will do to traffic on Balboa Peninsula?
FACT #11: When these officers retire, we will need to hire new ones. At a pension rate of 90% of their highest paid salary– assuming they have no overtime and never get a raise– we will be paying $1.5m when we hire new cops to fill this same position.
FACT #12: Our current council was elected under the banner of fiscal conservatism. Are we really going to be spending $800k/year for additional expansions of the public employee unions after the lowest crime rate in Newport Beach’s history– all while there are still open positions available for hiring on NBPD’s website?
Despite all of these absurdities, Dixon has added to the budget a plan to TRIPLE the police force on the peninsula on nights and weekends.
If the council approves this, they would be necessarily validating her plan (quoted in Fact #6). They would also be increasing the crime reports for the area, skyrocketing them well beyond what Dixon is already absurdly proclaiming. What would this do for property values? What would this do to insurance rates?
The truth of the matter is that Balboa is a safe, fun, and thriving community with high property values. Tell her you want to keep it that way!
We have only one chance to be heard on this before our peninsula is changed forever. Please join me tonight, Tuesday the 26th at 7pm at the new city hall, at 100 Civic Center Dr, Newport Beach, CA 92660.
