November 18, 2025
Agenda Item No. 12
TO:
HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:
Seimone Jurjis, Assistant City Manager - 949-644-3232, [email protected] PREPARED BY:
Seimone Jurjis, Assistant City Manager
TITLE:
Cooperative Agreement with the Orange County Transportation Authority ABSTRACT:
For the City Council’s consideration is a Cooperative Agreement (Agreement) with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to conduct a relocation feasibility study for the Newport Transportation Center (NTC), evaluating 3848 Campus Drive as the City of Newport Beach’s (City) preferred site. Under the Agreement, OCTA will procure and manage the study, and the City will reimburse 50% of costs in an amount not-to-exceed $250,000. The study will assess the current NTC site, 3848 Campus Drive, and additional candidate locations while preserving the NTC’s function as a regional transit hub served by OC Bus Routes 1, 55, 57 and 79. The scope includes operations and conceptual planning, environmental review, Title VI equity analysis, and compliance strategies for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements and The Irvine Company deed restrictions applicable to the current NTC site.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly; Authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into a Cooperative Agreement between the Orange County Transportation Authority and the City of Newport Beach in a form substantially similar to the agreement attached to the staff report; and Approve Budget Amendment No. 26-042 appropriating $250,000 in increased expenditures from the General Fund unappropriated fund balance.
DISCUSSION:
On June 26, 2025, the City asked the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to evaluate relocating the Newport Transportation Center (NTC) to 3848 Campus Drive in response to calls for police service at the current site. Since the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, calls for service at the NTC declined from 3,098 (FY 2023–24) to 2,262 (FY 2024–25), while arrests only decreased from 119 to 105 over the same period.
On August 26, 2025, the City Council authorized entering escrow to purchase 3848 Campus Drive (Property), creating an opportunity to secure a potential relocation site for the NTC. OCTA subsequently agreed to conduct a feasibility study of the Property and other potential locations.
The attached Agreement formalizes the OCTA–City partnership to complete a relocation feasibility study, with 3848 Campus Drive identified as the City’s preferred candidate site. Under the Agreement, OCTA will lead procurement and overall project management, and the City will reimburse 50% of eligible study costs in an amount not-to-exceed $250,000.
The scope of work will evaluate the existing NTC, 3848 Campus Drive, and additional candidate sites using common criteria. The analysis will maintain the NTC’s role as a regional transit hub served by OC Bus Routes 1, 55, 57 and 79, and will include a Title VI equity analysis to ensure no disparate impacts or disproportionate burdens on protected populations.
Because the existing NTC benefited from federal funding and is encumbered by The Irvine Company grant and deed provisions, the study and any subsequent actions must satisfy Federal Transit Administration (FTA) real property and disposition requirements and address site-specific restrictions. The study also includes compliance related to the California Surplus Land Act, CEQA/NEPA, and the City’s Local Coastal Program. OCTA has emphasized that no outcome can be predetermined prior to the appropriate environmental review.
The Agreement also provides for robust public involvement, including targeted rider outreach and on-site pop-up engagements at key milestones.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this item will increase General Fund expenditures to cover the City’s share of the feasibility study. The Budget Amendment (Attachment B) requests an appropriation of $250,000 in increased expenditures from unappropriated General Fund reserves to fund the feasibility study for Fiscal Year 2025-26. The related expenditures will be recorded in account no. 01201925-911047.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
NOTICING:
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A – Cooperative Agreement
Attachment B – Budget Amendment No. 26-042
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Cooperative Agreement with the Orange County Transportation Authority November 18, 2025
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City Council Staff Report COUNCIL STAFF REPORT City Council Staff Report COUNCIL STAFF REPORT NEWPORT BEACH NEWPORT BEACH City Council Staff Report COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
City Council Staff Report COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
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