Common Sense on Beachfront Patios : * Two Reports Clash on Property Encroachment; Local Study Offers Best Solution

The same problem--the encroachment of patios and decks onto the beachfront in Newport Beach--recently prompted two different responses: One is from a Newport Beach city committee that has lived for years with the problem, and the other is from the staff of the California Coastal Commission, which has just reviewed the committee’s work.

One view, the local committee’s, results from the work of residents who have taken a practical look at their problem, and the other results merely from hoping for what might be, if only the real world weren’t standing in the way of perfection.

The Newport plan, adopted by the City Council on Oct. 22, resulted from a long and measured look that a diverse local committee took at a problem that goes back to the 1940s.

After many public hearings, some tough politicking and even some disappointments for the committee during the city’s internal deliberations, the city adopted a plan that would allow patio encroachments on public easements anywhere from 7 1/2 to 15 feet on the public beach. Owners would be required to pay fees for annual encroachment permits, the proceeds of which would go into a pot to improve the public’s overall access to the beachfront.

It was, on balance, a sensible approach to a nearly impossible problem, and a significant triumph for solving complex problems at the grass-roots level.

Hundreds of homes already are outfitted with patios, wooden decks, spas, fire pits and barbecues that have made their way out onto the city easements. The committee took a look up and down the coast, and due notice of how the cities handled easement questions elsewhere.

As it is, many homeowners will have to scale back encroachments, but it would have been asking too much after all this time to expect all the nonconforming patios to be brought into line. Newport Beach recognized this and came up with something practical.

The Coastal Commission staff report that followed took an uncompromising look at the long, hard work done by the committee, and it rejected it out of hand late last month, opting to recommend only a 5-foot maximum of private patios and walls.

That has set the stage for a hearing Wednesday before the full commission.

Fortunately, the staff report is advisory only, and the commission ought to overrule it and let the common-sense approach prevail that was taken by the Newport Beach committee.