NEWPORT BEACH : 2 Votes on Land Use Raise Conflict Issue

City officials have asked the state Fair Political Practices Commission to determine if Councilwoman Evelyn R. Hart violated state regulations by voting on two occasions since 1988 on land-use issues in an area where she owns property.

Newport Beach officials asked the commission to look into the matter after other area property owners charged that Hart’s property holdings have influenced her opinions. They say she should not be allowed to participate in upcoming decisions on land in the area.

At issue is a duplex Hart owns and rents for income in the 500 block of Orange Avenue, which is near an area under city review for possible land-use changes. FPPC regulations say that council members generally cannot vote on issues if they own property within 300 feet of the area in question. Hart’s property falls within that limit.

The FPPC has “been asked to render advice as to (Hart’s) participation” on future votes about the area, said City Atty. Robert H. Burnham.

Hart, who has owned the duplex since 1970, countered that her possession of the parcel is well known in the community and that she has consistently declared the property in financial statements since she took office in 1978.

“I have not hidden anything,” Hart said. “I think in more than one way I have tried to respond” to the charges.

Hart said she has personally contacted the FPPC for advice and asked Burnham to make inquiries on the issues.

“I don’t think I’m being sneaky. . . . I hope the FPPC says this is something I can vote on,” he said.

Property owner Owen Minney, who has spearheaded efforts to change land uses in the neighborhood and raised the concerns against Hart, said in a letter to the city that he wants to prevent Hart from sitting on a newly established committee that is looking into ways to improve the area.

In a letter to the city attorney and other officials, Minney wrote: “I still feel that Mrs. Hart’s position is a threat to the goals of our ad hoc committee. She has had a negative attitude regarding the wants and desires of her constituents and her voting record reflects it. Her . . . declared conflict of interest makes her appearance tenuous at best.”

The area in question is often called Old Newport Boulevard but is officially Newport Avenue, which parallels Newport Boulevard and is bordered by Westminster and Orange avenues. Primarily, property owners there want the haphazard zoning changed so that the west side of the street, zoned only for commercial use, matches the east side, which is zoned for both residential and commercial uses.

The zoning change is being studied by a recently formed city committee that is also looking into other options for the area. About 18 months ago, the Planning Commission approved a similar zoning change, but the proposal was defeated by the City Council, with Hart casting her vote in opposition.

In 1988, the council also defeated a plan supported by property owners that would have allowed construction of an apartment building with some commercial uses incorporated. Hart and other officials voted to reduce the bulk and mass of that and other new structures as part of a review of the city’s General Plan.

Last month, the council agreed to set up the committee to begin studying the area. Hart abstained from that vote. A spokeswoman for the FPPC could not confirm that the agency is investigating the charges.