NEWPORT BEACH : Scaled-Back Marina for Bay Wins OK

Long-discussed plans for the controversial new Castaways Marina came to a quiet close this week when the City Council unanimously approved a smaller, scaled-down proposal supported by both environmentalists and company officials.

The private, 71-slip marina proposed by the California Recreation Co., an arm of the Irvine Co., was a compromise that residents said was not likely to harm the bay and public tidelands and that company officials said was big enough to generate a profit.

The council approved the project after a short public hearing Monday.

“I think we have a good plan that is going to be an asset to the community,” Councilman John W. Hedges said.

The new, smaller marina, which was proposed by the company, will be built solely on Irvine Co. property and does not include a previously proposed pier stretching up the bay that would have infringed on sensitive public tidelands.

Also, company officials have pledged to replace destroyed mud flats and subtidal habitats at a ratio of 3.8 acres for every acre destroyed by the construction, rather than the state-mandated 1.5-1 ratio.

The new marina, planned for the corner of Dover Drive and West Coast Highway, will cost about $7 million to build and will cater to boats 40 feet and larger. It will still need to win approval from a number of other agencies, including the California Coastal Commission.

Monday’s hearing was a rare show of cooperation between environmentalists and some in the city’s boating and business community who said that it was the first time many of the speakers found themselves on the same side of an issue.

The issue had been battled at the Planning Commission, which had approved a 121-slip plan, only slightly scaled down from the original 125-slip marina. That decision drew criticism from some residents and set the stage for a showdown between neighbors and company officials before the proposal was altered.

“We feel the marina as presented represents the interests of all those concerned,” said Jerry King, a consultant representing the California Recreation Co.

Frank Robinson, a spokesman for the environmental group Friends of Newport Bay, added: “The work the Irvine Co. has done has removed all the concerns we had. Some of these issues have been well-addressed, and we support the 71-slip marina.”