Commission OKs 3-story housing development over protest of Environmental Nature Center
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Members of the Newport Beach Planning Commission sympathized with environmentalists and concerned parents opposed to a three-story housing development planned next to a beloved open space, learning facility and pre-school before green-lighting the project at their meeting Thursday.
The Westcliff at Dover residential townhome community is expected to consist of 30 townhomes with floor plans ranging in size from 2,088 to 2,401 square feet and townhomes spread out over five buildings each reaching about 44 feet in height. It’s planned for construction at 1501 16th St., adjacent to the Environmental Nature Center.
The center sits partially tucked into a gully lined by towering redwoods and dense, low-hanging ferns. Since the 1970s, the site has sparked a love for the environment in thousands of Southern California’s youth through field trips, summer camps and other educational programming. It also includes a unique preschool, where children spend up to 90% of their time outside, immersed in nature.
Opponents who have been fighting the Westcliff at Dover development for more than a year believe its residents would have a direct line of sight into the center, compromising the privacy and security of youth and staff at the facility. They also said the three-story townhomes would tower over the greenspace, ruining the sense of sanctuary in the pocket forest.
The project threatens the institution’s “ability to deliver our educational mission to provide those transformative experiences through connection with nature,” Bo Glover, Environmental Nature Center’s president and chief executive, told commissioners during Thurday’s meeting. “This project is literally taking away the blue sky.”
Most of the nearly 30 people who offered public comment at the meeting pleaded with commissioners to halt the planned construction of the townhomes. They praised it for enriching generations of the community’s youth and described it as a hidden and irreplaceable gem in Newport Beach.
A handful of residents who spoke in favor of the development said it would add much needed homes to one of the most expensive rental markets in the country.
JD Vickers said he was born and raised in Newport Beach and is currently a renter in the city. He described himself as a young professional who “strives to continue living here.”
He added, “I would really appreciate this kind of project along with others just so younger people like myself do have the opportunity to stay here and don’t get priced our of our city,” Vickers said.
Other supporters of the new residential development said it would be less of an eyesore than the vacant medical building that currently sits on the planned construction site. Some made reference to mandated issued by state officials to dramatically increase the availability of homes in California. Newport Beach is required to zone for an additional 4,845 units of housing by the 2029 end of the current Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA).
Although commissioners acknowledged the contributions of the Environmental Nature Center and sympathized with its supporters, many reiterated the city’s obligation to zone for more housing. Failing to satisfy the housing mandate could open the door to costly fines and give the state justification to directly intervene in the city’s land use decisions.
Commissioners also noted that their role is to interpret city’s zoning code to determine what kind of projects are allowable, and not to make judgments about whether projects are good or bad.
“Otherwise we [the city of Newport Beach] get sued,” Commissioner Curtis Ellmore said.
“Our job is to delineate and understand the code,” he later said. “We [at the dais] all have children ... We appreciate the sentiments and the emotions that are associated with schools. We understand privacy and all these things.”
The commission voted 4-2 to allow the Westcliff at Dover development to move forward. Commissioners Jonathan Langford and Michael Gazzano cast the dissenting votes.
Huntington Beach officials spent years — and a not insignificant amount of taxpayer dollars — fighting the housing mandates. A judge recently sided with the state, placing the city on the hook for up to $50,000 a month in fines until it passes an adequate housing plan.
“While we are disappointed by the outcome, we are incredibly grateful for the hundreds of community members who wrote letters, attended the hearing, spoke on behalf of the ENC, and filled the Council Chambers,” representatives for the Environmental Nature Center wrote in a statement on Instagram on Friday.
The commission’s decision is eligible for appeal to the City Council
