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Now that the city cannot be held responsible for cleaning up a former gas station site, it has agreed to allocate $150,000 to turn the vacant lot into a park.
City officials struck a deal last month with the owner of the property, which is contaminated with benzene, that made the seller responsible for the cleanup.
Newport Beach resident Jim Thompson recruited a dozen people last year to raise money to buy the land and build a park on the site, an 8,500-square-foot parcel at Newport Boulevard and Short Street.
The group raised $160,000 toward the $300,000 asking price and asked the city to make up the difference.
City officials were willing to contribute once they reached agreement last month with the property owner to make the owner responsible for cleanup of the chemically contaminated site.
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