Fire Station & Property Moves

These are two separate, adjacent parcels, both listed by the Assessor with Use Type "TAX EXEMPTS," and both sharing an identical care-of mailing address (P.O. Box 1768, Newport Beach, CA), which is consistent with common ownership. The owner-of-record field was not visible in the records we accessed, so we do not state an owner name here, and no source we have confirms an acquisition date for either parcel. Combined 2026 assessed value: $6,133,573 ($2,049,527 for 868 + $4,084,046 for 870). Assessed value on tax-exempt property is not the same as market value — an actual sale or redevelopment value would require a separate appraisal, not the Assessor's exempt-property figures. CONFIRMEDOC Assessor records via ParcelQuest Lite, pulled Aug 28, 2026[10] Address confirmations: 870 from NBPD [7], 868 from NBFA [8].

All purchase prices and dates: CONFIRMEDvia city/agency purchase records[1]. 1201 Dove Street 84%-leased figure: REPORTEDStu News Newport, Nov 18, 2022[6]. Civic Center Park drainage-system question: REPORTEDVoice of OC, March 2026[9].

1. Nov 2026 (expected)
   The feasibility study is due to complete. This is the real decision point.
2. Jul 2026
   The City Council voted 7-0 to authorize the City Manager to execute a non-binding term sheet with OCTA establishing a framework for continued coordination on relocating the Newport Transportation Center at 1550 Avocado Avenue.

   CONFIRMEDHoodline + Stu News Newport reporting
3. Jun 2026
   OCTA's board approved a non-binding term sheet only, contingent on the study's results.

   CONFIRMEDOCTA agenda item
4. Feb 2026
   A joint OCTA/city feasibility study began.

   CONFIRMED
5. 2025

   Resident Jim Mosher's public statement

   Jim Mosher stated publicly that the city offered above the Campus Drive property's appraised value, and that the area near MacArthur Blvd./Bonita Canyon Dr. — not the OCTA site — is the more genuinely underserved location for fire response times.

   STATEDhis public comment, not independently verified
6. Aug 2025
   OCTA responded that relocation would require federal compliance review and agreement from The Irvine Company, the original donor of the transit hub land.

   CONFIRMEDOCTA's written letter
7. Jun 2025
   The council voted 6-0 (Weigand absent) to ask OCTA about relocating Fire Station 3. The item had been placed on the routine consent calendar and was pulled out for public discussion by Councilmember Barto.

   CONFIRMEDLegistar minutes

Sources for this timeline: the June 2025 council vote[2], OCTA's written response[3], Jim Mosher's public comment[4], and OCTA's June 2026 board action[5].

The Fire Department's 2022 Standards of Coverage report, prepared by Emergency Services Consulting International (ESCI), recommended two new fire stations — one near the Port Streets and one near Crystal Cove. CONFIRMED2022 ESCI Standards of Coverage report[11]

The report did not evaluate relocating Fire Station 3. Relocation of Station 3 is not among the options the study analyzed. CONFIRMED2022 ESCI Standards of Coverage report[11]

This report was supplied to us by resident contributor Nancy Scarbrough. We have not located a verified public URL for the document, so no link is provided.

On July 28, 2026, the City Council voted 7-0 to authorize the City Manager to execute a non-binding term sheet with OCTA. The term sheet establishes a "framework for continued coordination" on relocating the Newport Transportation Center — the OCTA hub currently at 1550 Avocado Avenue, the site under consideration for Fire Station 3. CONFIRMEDHoodline + Stu News Newport reporting[14][15]

Under the framework, the City would be responsible for funding a comparable replacement transit facility. The exact cost has not yet been finalized. The City's preferred candidate site for the replacement facility is 3848 Campus Drive, though other locations are also being studied. The target completion date is on or before December 31, 2031. CONFIRMEDHoodline + Stu News Newport reporting[14]

We are not presenting any total-cost estimate here. The dollar ranges that have appeared in some opinion-styled commentary were not in the news reporting or city documents we reviewed, so they are not treated as confirmed.

Two separate documents analyze response and travel times for the proposed relocation of Fire Station 3 to the Avocado Avenue site. They are distinct sources, and their travel-time figures differ.

• Newport Beach Fire Department report, June 4, 2025 — the Fire Department's own analysis of the proposed Avocado Avenue relocation. CONFIRMEDNBFD report, June 4, 2025[12]
• Newport Beach Firefighters Association report, August 3, 2026 — a response-time report commissioned by the fire union's political action committee after the Avocado relocation decision had already been effectively made. CONFIRMEDNBFA response-time report, August 3, 2026[13]

We present both reports as separate sources and do not resolve which set of travel-time figures is correct.

Both documents were supplied to us by resident contributor Nancy Scarbrough. We have not located verified public URLs for either, so no links are provided.