CORONA DEL MAR : Council OKs Gate for Spyglass Ridge

The 41 homes in the Spyglass Ridge community, where visitors and residents can freely come and go, will soon be tucked away behind a gate.

Seven public streets in the community will be converted to private streets, allowing the Spyglass Ridge Homeowners Assn. to place the entire community behind a guard gate.

Newport Beach City Council members unanimously voted on Monday to approve the association’s proposal to convert the streets.

Spyglass Ridge homeowners will be charged an annual fee of $300 to cover the costs of a $1-million liability insurance policy, said Ken Petersen, president of the association. Some exceptions may be made for residents who cannot afford the fee, he said.

The Irvine Co. agreed to pay for a portion of the cost of the gate and entrance when it opened Newport Coast Drive. The guard gate will be built within months.

Two residents pleaded with the city council to reject the association’s proposal.

“It’s hard for me to understand why the city is even considering this,” said John Atkin, an 18-year resident on Ocean Birch Drive. “It’s a local community. It’s a village. We need it to be left a village.”

“I believe it’s unconscionable for the city to approve (conversion) of the streets,” another resident, Karl Wolf, said.

The homeowners’ association submitted a petition signed by 40 residents supporting the street conversion in October, 1991. Since then, seven people have changed their minds and rescinded their signatures.

No specific percentage of signatures in favor of street conversion is required, city officials said.

Making the motion to pass the proposal, Councilman John C. Cox said: “Some time in the future, they will be glad that they live in a gated community.”

But Atkin vowed to continue opposing the project. “I have to stop at a gate? No way. It’s not going to happen,” Atkin said. “I’m not through fighting this.”