To: Lido Isle Community Association

Let's do Lido landscaping RIGHT!

Lido Isle Residents request an update to improve center medians and parks on Lido. The intended result from this petition is to achieve unity of landscape design and plant palette on Lido in conformance with City standards as well as equitable input by residents due to the scope and cost of proposed improvements. PLEASE sign our petition and include your address in the comments section for LICA verification. Two signatures per address if applicable would be ideal!

Why is this important?

It has come to our attention that Lido Island Community Association (LICA) Board of Directors (Board) and the Major Capital Improvements Committee (MCIC) have requested permission from the City of Newport Beach to redesign the medians, the windows to the bay, and other public spaces on the island. The cost is estimated upwards of $100,000. Due to this cost and the extent of the proposed landscape changes, we, the undersigned, request such improvements undergo further and more comprehensive input from residents.
An island-wide improvement is planned. However, information has been shared inequitably among residents about proposed changes. In February, Lido Isle residents whose homes border the landscaped islands located on Piazza Lido received a hand-delivered flyer informing them of an MCIC decision to re-landscape the Piazza medians. The flyer also invited these particular residents to attend a February 26 meeting at the Clubhouse to review proposed plans for Piazza Lido only. For most recipients, this notice was the first news of the project although meeting minutes of LICA Board (2/13/19) and MCIC (1/31/19) appear in the March 2019 Lido Islander. Residents living on other streets, i.e. non-recipients of the flyer, were given no notice of the February 26 meeting.
To wit, the landscaping of the Piazza Lido medians is part of a larger plan to re-landscape all medians on Lido (Via Antibes; Via Genoa and Via San Remo) as well as parks off main streets on the island (Via Firenze, Koron/Soud, Orvieto/Soud, Waziers/Soud, Antibes/Nord). While efforts to improve the island landscapes are appreciated, many of the residents whose homes face the medians, as well as others who pass by them daily, have specific concerns about the proposed improvements.
At the same time, updating the Landscape Design Guidelines for Lido Isle is crucial. These guidelines will bring a comprehensive design to all landscapes on Lido in conformance with City standards and will serve as a template for future island improvements. Islanders deserve attractive landscapes consistent with other areas of comparable property values overseen by homeowner’s associations, for example, Newport Coast and Emerald Bay. Any proposed design should be in keeping with Lido’s Mediterranean heritage and consider water-wise garden practices as is consistent with Mediterranean landscapes. All Lido property owners’ dues ensure them input into decisions made in their interest. With the extraordinary resources available on Lido we should be setting the highest standard for innovation, conservation, and aesthetics within the City and beyond.
While the undersigned appreciate the time and effort LICA has expended on these projects, we request further community-wide discussions before moving forward on any landscaping projects now under consideration. These issues affect all Lido residents. Concerns include the establishment of updated design guidelines by qualified professionals that provide for unity of design and plantings on Lido in conformance with City standards as well as equitable input by residents.