NEWPORT BEACH : Groups Weigh In on Building Height Rule

About 175 residents trekked to City Hall this week to fight a proposed change in a city ordinance they say poses a threat to their views of Newport Harbor and the Pacific Ocean.

At issue is the height limits on commercial buildings along the West Coast Highway inland side of Mariners Mile, which lies between hundreds of homes in the Cliff Haven, Park Place and Newport Heights neighborhoods and the water.

Dozens of fearful residents stood before the City Council on Monday night and delivered speeches with essentially the same message: If the buildings are too tall, then public views are destroyed and private property values will drop dramatically.

“The people have a real protectionist attitude here about the Newport lifestyle,” said John Sturgess, president of the Cliff Haven Community Assn., who opposes any change in the building height limit of 26 feet.

“They are protective of the interests and people want to maintain the beauty of the area.”

The matter generated three hours of heated debate between residents and Mariners Mile property owners, who feel the current provisions for obtaining approval for a 35-foot-tall building are too vague, too subjective and too difficult.

At the end of the debate, City Council members decided that the issue had become so murky that the city might “start from scratch” and reintroduce the proposed ordinance at the next meeting.

The current law in Newport Beach says that a developer can build a 26-foot building without a use permit.

But commercial property owners can build to 35 feet if they get permission from the Planning Commission.

To get that approval, developers must prove during a public hearing that residential views would not be significantly obstructed by the additional height.

The proposed change in the law regulating height limits would attempt to clarify the requirements for exceeding the 26-foot limit.

The City Council will consider the issue again at its next meeting on May 9.