Newport Beach council discusses outdoor dining in public right-of-way for Newport Pier, Balboa Island
Outdoor dining was up for discussion again at the Newport Beach City Council dais, though this time it was focused on the restaurants near Newport Pier and on Balboa Island.
The emergency use permits the City Council previously extended to the end of December last year are no longer in effect. What remains are 30 limited term permits issued to restaurants throughout the city to allow outdoor dining to continue on private property for up to 12 months from the date of issue.
That, however, does not include restaurants that have outstanding outdoor dining in the public right-of-way — what would be considered public parking or sidewalks, according to community development director Seimone Jurjis. Jurjis said that city staff lacks the authority to permit those that lie in the Newport Pier area as they are under the Coastal Commission’s purview.
Jurjis said commissioners would allow the temporary use of public parking spots for outdoor dining through mid-May but want the parking restored before summer sets in.
The question then for the City Council was whether or not members would be comfortable continuing to allow this use through mid-May and then return the parking spaces from dining to their originally intended use. Average revenue for a parking space is about $441 a month in that area.
Councilwoman Diane Dixon asked whether the Coastal Commission would be amenable to an off-season outdoor dining situation. Jurjis said the businesses would need to submit a coastal development permit application to the Coastal Commission, which would take anywhere from a year to 18 months to gain approval.
Councilman Will O’Neill said he was passing through the area the other day and noticed that every seat at the outdoor tables was taken.
Jurjis said they could apply for the permit, but it would be difficult during the peak tourist season due to potentially decreased public coastal access.
“The amount of sales tax that this has generated maybe didn’t offset completely but sure offset a lot of the parking revenue,” said O’Neill. “People are using it. People love it. It’d be unfortunate to lose it, but if Coastal Commission is not going to allow us to even issue a permit on it then I guess at some point it has to go away.”
Public Works Director Dave Webb reviewed current outdoor dining on sidewalks along Marine Avenue on Balboa Island, where Webb said it can get tight due to street fixtures such as benches and street lamps, in addition to restaurant dining tables.
Webb said the question as far as Balboa Island is concerned is whether to update current policies to allow the continued use of Marine Avenue’s sidewalks for dining or consider instituting other requirements.
O’Neill said he felt outdoor dining on Marine Avenue “reenergized” the street and he was in support of updating current policy to focus on that street specifically. Councilwoman Joy Brenner inquired about the costs for restaurants to use the public right-of-way and said she got a number of emails from residents who are thrilled with the outside seating at restaurants.
“But I think before we start talking about utilizing any parking, we need to balance that a lot of their emails that their customers are from out of town,” said Brenner. “So, it might actually hurt the restaurants if we took away any of the parking on Balboa Island ... so I would want to hear more about that from them.”
Dixon said she was also fully supportive and asked if there were any street fixtures that could be removed or relocated to free up some “real estate” for local businesses to use.
Councilman Noah Blom recused himself from the discussion due to real property interests.
No action was formally taken by City Council, though council members unofficially decided to allow the usage of the public right-of-way for outdoor dining to continue through May in Newport Pier. As for Balboa Island, city staff was directed to make current policies work with outdoor dining, making sure ADA requirements and general pedestrian access are maintained.
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