Collaboration
Collaboration
SPON is committed to collaboration with the City Council, City staff, community leaders and other advocacy group in Newport Beach.
To help guide the affairs of the City, the City Council has established committees and commissions. To keep our residents informed, SPON members attend many committee and commission meetings, particularly when issues that would have a significant impact are being discussed.
SPON members have been very involved in crafting the City’s General Plan. This is the base document that guides the City’s actions. Newport Beach’s General Plan has not been updated since 2006. The General Plan is traditionally updated very 15-20 years. The importance of this document should not be underestimated. It is the visionary roadmap for the future of the City.
Collaboration with community groups, homeowner associations, the City, and the County of Orange serves to further inform and educate our membership. This is accomplished through the publication of SPON Newsletters, social media and our SPON Annual Meeting.
Initiatives/Achievements
City Meetings - SPON Board Members have been members of the City's Aviation Committee, the Finance Committee, the General Plan Advisory Committee, the Water Quality Tidelands Committee, and the Art's Foundation. Additionally, many SPON Board Members attend City commission and committee meetings including the restructured Aviation Committee, and the Planning and Arts Commission. SPON also attends and monitors City Council Meetings and other special meetings of the City Council.
General Plan Update -SPON is engaged in numerous efforts to help craft the revised Newport Beach General Plan. Several SPON members have been selected to serve on the 2023 General Plan Advisory Committee.
Housing Fund - One of the most recent accomplishments has been the collaboration between members of SPON, and hotel owners resulting in the formation of the Newport Beach Housing Fund.
Televised Planning Commission Meetings - Beginning in 2016, SPON, at its own expense, began recording and posting videos of the City Planning Commission meetings, an activity the Council refused to fund. In February 0f 2017 the council recognized the value of keeping a publicly accessible video archive of Planning Commission Meetings, and voted to take over the responsibility for recording and posting these meetings, This represents a critically important opportunity for residents to be kept aware of, and understand projects that are being proposed.
Outreach - SPON maintains a robust website, posts frequently to Facebook and Instagram, and sends timely, topical electronic newsletters.