A vision of one village

There is understandable anguish in parts of Corona del Mar concerning

news that the city’s redistricting process may end up altering the

face of the “Village.”

The news, however, is not as bleak as may first appear.

Yes, models of how Newport Beach needs to realign its council

districts to accommodate residents of Newport Coast continue to

stumble on keeping the Corona del Mar district as it is. But a most

likely solution -- to move Irvine Terrace to the district anchored by

Balboa Island -- does not cut at the heart of old Corona del Mar.

In other words, the Village is not going to have a line drawn

through its middle.

One of Newport Beach’s strengths is that it is a city of

communities: Corona del Mar, Balboa Island, the peninsula, Lido Isle,

Spy Glass and West Newport, among them. These tight-knit groups form

the basis for a collective, cohesive city that -- as countless

stories in the Daily Pilot have shown -- quickly rallies itself

together. Corona del Mar’s identity may be the strongest of all, and

a shift in invisible political boundaries will not change that.

It is also useful to note that divided political lines do not

equal a divided community. Right now, Newport Beach is represented by

two county supervisors: Jim Silva and Tom Wilson, whose district

includes Newport Coast. For many years, Reps. Chris Cox and Dana

Rohrabacher shared the city, with Rohrabacher’s piece on the west,

along with his hometown of Huntington Beach. These splits have not

proven a problem. In fact, such dual representation can mean more

officials pulling for a community’s interests, more voices arguing on

its behalf.

The same, if change does come, would be true in Corona del Mar.

Whatever happens, Corona del Mar will keep its own zip code, its

own vision for its future and its own memories of its past.

It will remain a village, with its own, distinctive character.