NEWPORT BEACH : Public to Gain Access to Most of Bay Club

By HOLLY J. WAGNER

Sept. 24, 1994 12 AM PT

Gov. Pete Wilson has signed a bill that will allow the Balboa Bay Club to stay on state tidelands property and undertake a $20-million to $30-million renovation that will give the public access to about 95% of the now-private facilities.

The law, which Wilson signed Thursday, represents a compromise between the city and the State Lands Commission, under which the city will keep 95% of lease revenue for up to five years after a new lease is negotiated, then 90% in succeeding years. The balance will go into a state fund for care of the property and other tidelands.

For the record:

12:00 a.m. Oct. 1, 1994 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday October 1, 1994 Orange County Edition Metro Part B Page 3 Column 4 Orange County Focus Desk 2 inches; 42 words Type of Material: Correction
Balboa Bay Club--A story Sept. 24 about a new law allowing the Balboa Bay Club to remain on state tidelands incorrectly stated two provisions of a renovation plan. The plan will open 65% of the club’s facilities to the public and the Terrace Apartments will not be converted to a hotel, as was once proposed.

The club, at 1221 W. Coast Highway, has occupied the property since 1948, when the city granted it a 50-year lease. In 1978, the state transferred the land to the city as a public trust, which requires public access.

A renovation approved by the City Council in July will open 95% of the 13-acre facility to the public to meet the access requirement. It will include adding a restaurant, ballroom, four conference rooms, a coffee shop and two bars and converting the 144 terrace Apartments on the west four acres to hotel rooms.

Deteriorating portions of the original club will be redesigned and built so homeowners on the hillsides above Coast Highway have “view corridors.”

Renegotiation of the club’s lease, which expires in 2011, was on hold until the land-use hurdle was cleared. Balboa Bay Club owner Beverly Ray hopes to get a 50-year extension, which City Manager Kevin J. Murphy said would run from the close of negotiations.

Lease revenue was nearly $850,000 last year and will increase annually because of a stepped lease, City Atty. Robert Burnham said. Ultimately, city officials hope the renovated property could produce up to $2 million in annual city revenue, based on a percentage of rents.

The new law and a new lease are crucial to the renovation because lenders are unlikely to finance the renovation without long-term prospects.