NEWPORT BEACH : Hearing to Be Held on Beachfront Additions

Ocean Front Walk property owners will have a chance to tell the Planning Commission on Thursday night their opinions of proposed new rules limiting additions to their properties.

Under the proposed rules, homeowners would be permitted to build balconies, decks, patio covers and other extensions up to three feet from the front setback of a building as long as they use transparent materials. Opaque materials also would be allowed if the design of the extension is at least 40% open so it does not mar neighbors’ views.

More than half the extensions along both West Ocean Front and East Ocean Front are balconies, usually added with sliding glass doors for better home ventilation, according to a report by senior planner W. William Ward.

Planning Director James Hewicker said the new policy is the result of a 1992 City Council request for uniform standards after the council approved two balcony permits. One had been granted by the city’s modifications committee; the other had been denied.

Ward’s report indicates the modifications committee “is reluctant to approve any encroachment absent clear direction from the council on the matter.”

The council directed that the policy target for possible demolition only additions on properties whose owners did not first receive a building or modification permit. Property owners would be able to apply for permits for extensions that were built without them.