Newport Beach seeks to rein in ‘unruly’ spring break and summer holiday crowds

With spring break revelry right around the corner, Newport Beach is looking to pair down the number of arrests and citations issued during March and April with beefed up enforcement measures.

In considering expanding Safety Enhancement Zone holidays, the city cited problems with excessive noise and alcohol-related offenses during peak crowd periods, especially as waves of vacationers come from Arizona and Nevada schools for spring break.

According to a staff report, Newport Beach saw more than 500 arrests last year during spring break months.

Newport Beach has already designated the West Newport, Balboa Peninsula and Corona del Mar areas as Safety Enhancement Zones during the Fourth of July.

On Tuesday, council members agreed to extend the zones to cover spring break periods and other summer holidays. The boundary for the West Newport and peninsula zone was also expanded from 32nd Street to B Street.

“We have to give our code enforcement, our officers, the teeth that they need to enforce the rules and regulations that we put forth,” said Councilmember Joe Stapleton. “Last year...whether it was spring break, Memorial [Day], Labor Day, Fourth of July, it was not good.”

Concerns also surrounded overcrowded house parties at short-term rentals during Fourth of July, which accounted for a majority of violations last summer.

In 2025, Newport Beach saw 76 arrests on Independence Day.

Stapleton, who represents a district heavily impacted by unruly holiday crowds, raised the example of how officers responded to the same house on multiple occasions as parties raged on with more than a hundred people.

With that, the council also considered giving the city firmer authority to suspend or revoke short-term rental permits in safety zone areas for specific violations during peak holidays.

Todd Priest, a resident and lobbyist for the Newport Beach Short Term Rental Alliance, told the council that the organization generally supported the expanded holiday time zones for safety areas but suggested softening the language around permit revocations to allow for discretion.

“It does give the city the ability to still move forward with that revocation, but it doesn’t mandate that it happen,” he said. “It allows for short-term rental owners who live and operate in Newport to have some dialogue with the city on what took place or maybe what didn’t take place. It’s not a big ask, but I think it’s an important ask for people that have real estate investments here in our city.”

Councilmember Robyn Grant said the issue of using the word “shall” instead of “may” in ordinances, like the one the dais considered on Tuesday, has come up before, but expressed confidence city staff “would have good judgment if there is something that’s pretty egregious.”

City Atty. Aaron Harp said the Fourth of July crowds last year impacted the Newport Beach Police Department’s operations and undermined public safety. He said the language was designed to be a mandatory revocation.

At the end of the discussion, the council approved the added enforcement measures on a unanimous vote.

City staff also identified Memorial Day and Labor Day as holidays that draw large crowds. The enforcement measures now include both days in addition to Fourth of July and spring break.

The changes also clarified rules for shade coverings on the city’s beaches to ensure greater public safety.