NEWPORT BEACH : Group Seeks Pier Area Improvements

After a nearly $2-million renovation last year that turned the historic Newport Pier area into a charming, old-fashioned promenade, the area is being considered for further upgrading.

The Newport Pier Assn., a group of merchants and property owners, is lobbying the city to allow rebuilding of shops around the pier in a turn-of-the-century, old-town style, similar to that of the historic, two-story McFadden Building and the Doryman’s Inn.

“This area’s got a lot of historic things--the first jail, the first City Hall--the first of almost everything in Newport was there,” said Bill Schonlau, president of the pier association. “We think it can again really be the focal point for Newport that it once was.”

After seeing McFadden Square in front of the pier--named after city founders--transformed into a bustling meeting place, the merchants’ group now wants the city to change zoning laws so that owners of old buildings can rebuild and redevelop them in an old-town style.

Currently, building regulations are typical of those in many older beach cities, with large buildings and heights taller than one story prohibited for newly constructed buildings.

The merchant group wants to loosen those restrictions to allow slightly bigger buildings.

Councilman John Hedges, whose district includes the pier area, is supportive of the group’s preliminary plans but says more specific proposals need to be made before the idea can be fully discussed.

Since Newport Beach was founded more than 100 years ago, the area around the pier has served as a town center of sorts.

In the early 1890s, dory fishermen started using the area as a launching point for their one-man boats, returning from the sea to sell their catch in an open-air market. The practice continues to this day.

Since its renovation last year, the area has again boomed, now with shops and restaurants that have increased tourism and commerce in the area.

“The pier had suffered the same fate as the downtown area (with) flight to the newer sections of town that developed,” said Schonlau. “Obviously, Newport Center and Fashion Island have become very popular.”

But the group hopes that the renewed interest in the pier area brought on by last year’s renovations will help propel a new round of redevelopment.