NEWPORT BEACH : Balboa Bay Club Plans Spawn Fears

For the past decade, Charles Reynolds has taken refuge from daily pressures out on his deck, which allows him a prime, peaceful view of the Pacific Ocean.

But now, Reynolds is afraid of losing that view to a $50-million expansion project at the Balboa Bay Club, which sits on 14 oceanfront acres the city leases to the private club. City and club officials’ negotiations to extend the current lease for 50 years is crucial to the expansion, which Reynolds said he opposes for the sake of generations to come.

“Why in the hell does the City Council have the right to give away your future for 50 years? I want my kids to enjoy this water out there,” Reynolds, 72, said.

The city Planning Commission’s recent approval of the project, which calls for a 300-room hotel and a 77% increase in building space, has raised complaints from area residents about noise, traffic and taller buildings.

They say the buildings, which would rise up to 35 feet, will cost them more than views and privacy. Reynolds said his neighbors along Kings Road stand to lose from $200,000 to $300,000 in property values with the construction of the tall buildings.

Club officials, however, contend that many Cliff Haven residents will have better views because of horseshoe-shaped buildings and 45-foot to 90-foot setbacks.

“It appears the majority of the people who live up on the bluff and look down probably are going to be very positively affected,” said William D. Ray, chairman of the club’s board.

With the project, eight of the club’s nine buildings will be redeveloped. The remaining building, a 145-unit apartment complex, is scheduled only for cosmetic work.

Club officials estimate the three-phase construction plan will take 24 to 30 months. The first phase would include demolition of the beach building, 30 guest rooms, 194 parking spaces and four meeting rooms to create space for a new 20,000-square-foot athletic facility. The remaining guest rooms, meeting rooms and four buildings will be destroyed in the second phase. A parking structure will also be built in the second phase.

The new guest room facility and clubhouse will be built during the last leg of the construction schedule.

The new buildings vary in height up to the 35-foot limit, which Cliff Haven residents say is just tall enough to block their views.

Ray said the club’s planning and design studies were done with ocean views in mind, but he conceded that “there undoubtedly is going to be someone whose view is adversely affected.” He contended that the number of residents with blocked views would be minimal.

To the west of the club, Bayshores residents are complaining about potential for increased noise from an additional 300-room hotel facing their exclusive gated community.

With its unanimous approval last month, the Planning Commission added two conditions to a list of 85 to help mitigate residents’ concerns.

One condition would prohibit the club from opening any hotel windows and doors facing the Bayshores community. The other, a noise-control recommendation, is pending results from a staff study on noise from West Coast Highway.

The City Council is expected to vote on the prohibitions next Monday. If approved, the proposal will go before the state Coastal Commission.

Although the expansion project and lease extension are separate issues, the former is not likely to happen without the latter.

The city first issued the club a 50-year lease in 1948, then extended it by 12 years in 1986. City and club officials have since discussed extending the lease, but negotiations have not begun.

“We did not want to mix the lease with the (redevelopment) plan,” said City Manager Robert L. Wynn. “We wanted to know on one before we started on the other,” he said, adding that negotiations may begin this month or in August and take up to three months.

If approved this summer by the City Council and the state Coastal Commission, construction could begin early next year, club President Tom Deemer said.