Corona del Mar Today: City seeks community input on beach bonfire plans
Newport Beach has launched an online survey seeking input from the community regarding the city’s beach fire rings.
The city’s website was updated Friday with a link to the survey, which describes seven possible plans that could be submitted to the California Coastal Commission.
Meanwhile, some fire rings were relocated to meet conditions that would allow 30 to be fueled by wood, following a City Council vote Jan. 13 to bring back wood to the rings. A permanent plan would return wood to all of the city’s 60 rings.
Debate in coastal cities has focused on the health effects to neighbors of the smoke from burning wood.
According to the updated web page, as of Jan. 23, wood is permitted in some of the rings.
“At Corona del Mar State Beach, you can burn wood in the rings closest to the ocean — the ones that are spaced more widely,” the website states. “The rings closest to the grass near the palm tree are charcoal-only. You’ll see a dividing line between the two sections. The spacing is not finalized as of this posting.”
The survey’s seven plans “attempt to restore some or all wood-burning fire rings to Newport’s beaches, while complying with certain regulations and laws,” the survey states.
It asks people to weigh in on what they like or dislike and what changes they might make to one or more of the plans.
• Plan 1 is the City Council-approved plan, with 18 rings at Corona del Mar State Beach, also known as Big Corona, 26 near the Balboa Pier, nine north of the Newport Pier and seven at the western side of the Newport Dunes lagoon.
• Plan 2 “generally places the 60 rings in the same locations as today, but realigns them to meet” the 100-foot spacing requirement.
•Plan 3 places some rings at Big Corona, some at the Balboa Pier and smaller clusters of 4 to 10 rings between the Santa Ana River and roughly 15th Street, the survey states.
•Plan 4 “is like Plan 2, but would require Coastal Commission approval for the seasonal removal of half of the wood-burning rings (30) from Oct. 16 to March 14, leaving 30 wood-burning rings available during the winter months.”
• Plan 5 places 14 fire rings at Big Corona, 14 near the Balboa Pier and 32 in a single line — spaced about 525 feet apart — from the Balboa Pier to the Santa Ana River.
•Plan 6 “attempts to keep the general current footprint, but intersperses charcoal-only rings with wood-burning rings (roughly 30 of each).”
• Plan 7, the survey states, is charcoal-only.
City Manager Dave Kiff, in an email last weekend, said: “I know that the plans have generated and will continue to generate a lot of discussion. As you contribute your thoughts, please remember this: This isn’t an easy issue to solve. The Coastal Commission staff has told us in no uncertain terms that wood-burning rings are important to them, as the rings are an important low-cost amenity for the region’s beachgoers.”
The city, he wrote, is currently out of compliance with the Coastal Commission.
“But we can’t put wood back in the rings where they sit today without spacing them out a lot more — that’s now the law,” he wrote. “Spacing them out means that more people could see rings nearby. Even if all of the rings were kept in the same general area as they are today (that’s Plan No. 2), new groups of people would have rings nearby. But [the South Coast Air Quality Management District] has also said that if they are spaced properly (100 feet from each other), then the health impacts of wood smoke are lessened.”
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Registration opens for CdM Scenic 5K
Registration is open for the Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce’s 34th Annual Scenic 5K race.
The cost for the June events ranges from $15 for the 1K Kids’ Dolphin Dash to $38 for men’s and women’s 5K races. For more information, including registration options and online course maps, visit cdmchamber.com/events/5k.asp. Registration fees include a race T-shirt, goody bag and breakfast at the end of the course.
The first planning meeting for the Scenic 5K will take place at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at the chamber office, 2855 East Coast Hwy. Parking is available behind the building. Refreshments will be served.
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Bridal Walk is coming up in March
The Corona del Mar Bridal Walk will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 8.
The annual event will begin with registration at Sherman Library & Gardens, at 2647 East Coast Hwy., where brides-to-be will receive a map to assist them on a self-guided tour of Corona del Mar businesses that offer wedding services.
The event will conclude with a reception from 4 to 5 p.m. at Five Crowns Restaurant, 3801 East Coast Hwy.
To sign up, visit cdmbride.com.
Corona del Mar Today appears Sundays in the Daily Pilot. Read daily updates at coronadelmartoday.com.