NEWPORT BEACH : Compromise Plan for Upper Bay Park OKd

After deleting two proposed restrictions on recreational use of Upper Newport Bay Regional Park, the Planning Commission last week approved a county plan for developing the grassy meadow.

Several dozen residents crowded into the City Council chambers to argue for removal of proposed restrictions on horseback riding or walking dogs.

The county had proposed making the park off limits to horses and people walking dogs, and limiting use to all others between 7 a.m. and sunset. The county also proposed building a 10,000-square-foot visitors’ center.

The Planning Commission crafted a compromise by which dogs and horses would be allowed in the area. Commissioners also approved a plan to build two recreation paths, as well as a visitor center. The final vote was unanimous.

“It was a nice compromise,” said Carla Brockman, a resident whose property borders the so-called Westbay parcel at Irvine Avenue and University Drive and who opposed both the visitor center and use restrictions.

The park, which wraps around the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Preserve and includes the Westbay parcel, is a grassy, open meadow crisscrossed by several worn dirt trails used regularly by residents and horseback riders.

The county’s plan is designed to restore the wildlife habitat while also building the visitor center into the hillside. The center would have a grass-covered roof to hide it from view.

Finally, to soothe residents who fear that the “planning community residential” zoning on the park implied that homes could be built on it, planning commissioners also recommended the City Council change the zoning to open space.

“That is just procedural, to allay resident fears,” city planner John Douglas said of the zone change.

The project will go to the City Council for preliminary approval on June 14.