Newport council to weigh restaurant’s request to build outdoor patio
The fate of a Balboa Island restaurant’s request to build an outdoor patio on the public sidewalk is coming to the Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday.
In November, the Planning Commission approved the Village Inn’s application to a build a permanent, 200-square-foot patio on a section of the Marine Avenue sidewalk near Park Avenue. The sidewalk contains bike racks, and to make up for their loss, the Village Inn was required to pay $12,000 to rebuild them on another section of Marine’s sidewalk.
The commission granted the project with some exemptions, including the patio being 9 inches above the sidewalk. City code says it must be even.
The panel also allowed the Village Inn, established in 1933, to install a decorative wrought-iron barrier affixed to the concrete; city code says any barriers must be temporary in nature and easily removable.
The patio was restricted to having up to seven tables and 16 seats, open only from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
About two weeks after the commission’s approval, Balboa Island resident Mike Sullivan, who lives two doors down from the Village Inn, appealed the commission’s decision, which moved it forward to the council.
“The residents of the 100 block of Marine Ave. unanimously opposed” the commission’s Nov. 3 approval, Sullivan wrote in his appeal. “Too close to homes. No other outdoor dining in city directly adjacent to homes in a residential zone.”
Sullivan also alleged that the Village Inn has too many code enforcement violations against it.
In response to Sullivan’s allegation, city staff said the restaurant receives “random bar checks” and “no violations warranting issuances of a citation have been identified to date.”
City officials noted that Tuesday’s hearing will be “de novo,” meaning that that Planning Commission’s earlier decision has no force or effect on the council’s.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 100 Civic Center Drive.
Twitter: @BradleyZint
