Plans for update of Corona del Mar 76 Service Station gain City Council approval

The remodel of a 76 service station at 2201 E. Coast Highway moved forward Tuesday night with the approval of the Newport Beach City Council, though not without an additional stipulation that limits the hours of alcohol sales.

Councilman Duffy Duffield recused himself from the vote, citing “a personal financial effect” from the business.

The remodel includes the addition of 232 square feet and a permit to sell alcohol. A staff report prepared for the meeting Tuesday indicates that the convenience market would be 1,995 square feet following the remodel. Its operating hours were initially expected to be from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. daily with proposed hours for alcohol sales — beer and wine — at the convenience market from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. With council action Tuesday, those hours are now limited to 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

If owner and applicant Hamid Kianipur wants to extend those hours he will be required to go through city permitting processes.

The remodel will not affect the existing gas pump canopy, eight fuel dispensers and the below-grade fuel infrastructure, according to city staff. It is expected to include 10 parking spaces, a trash enclosure, a water and air pump station and landscaping with the driveway on Avocado Avenue and the two on East Coast Highway to remain.

The project is expected to be at a maximum height of 23 feet and six inches. A coastal development permit and conditional use permit were approved by the Newport Beach Planning Commission in October, but the project was brought up for review at the council level by Councilwoman Joy Brenner, who represents the Corona del Mar district and heard from concerned residents on the matter.

The 76 gas station at East Coast Highway and Avocado Avenue.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Kianipur said the property was purchased in 2003, but that the station likely dates to sometime in the 1950s. His family has run the station since. He said the existing building was constructed after a conditional use permit was granted in 1972 and that the gas canopy was replaced about 10 years ago.

The plan to remodel dates back to 2018.

“As you know, the car repair business has changed much since 1972. As our cars have become more and more complex, fewer people bring their cars to the corner gas station and as a result, it is no longer a profitable business,” Kianipur said.

“After investigating the viability and suitability of several options including a car wash, we have decided to remodel the existing building and change the mechanics bay and snack shop to a full convenience store,” he continued. “This required a new conditional use permit, which was approved by the Planning Commission at the Oct. 7 meeting after two and a half, almost three years of effort.”

Kianipur acknowledged he has heard from area residents concerned about the alcohol sales, traffic, homeless people in the vicinity and the design of the store.

Citizens largely rehashed the same concerns during the public hearing, with some objecting to the alcohol sales at the convenience store, saying it might create competition between it and next-door Korker Liquor. Others worried about traffic congestion and requested the council stay its decision until a traffic study was conducted.

There were residents who voiced their support of the project and of Kianipur, pointing out the corner needs some updating and that Kianipur has worked with the community to change the project’s design. Some were supportive of simply having a convenience store nearby.

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