Balboa Peninsula bars won’t have to close at 11 p.m., Newport official says

Mayor Pro Tem Diane Dixon hoped to make one thing clear Tuesday night.

The city is not forcing peninsula bars to close after 11 p.m., as some have alleged on social media and other online forums, Dixon said during a town hall meeting she hosted at the former City Hall.

“That’s frankly a lie,” she said. “It’s fear-mongering.”

The City Council this month directed staff to draft an amendment to the city’s zoning code that would form an overlay district for the peninsula, likely including regulations to address the effects of alcoholic beverage service at bars and restaurants open past 11 p.m.That triggered an outcry on social media.

New restaurants and bars are required to get a use permit and operator license from the city and obey regulations affecting hours of operation, noise, security and alcoholic beverage service.

However, many existing late-hour establishments were approved long before the city required a use permit, meaning they are not regulated the same way as new businesses, a city staff report states.

Several residents worried that this meant bars would no longer be able to operate after 11 p.m. — a move they said would cripple businesses and end the peninsula’s reputation for walkable night life.

On Sunday, Michael Glenn, an 11-year Balboa Peninsula resident, began circulating an online petition against what he called the “Lights Out at 11 p.m.” proposal. As of Wednesday morning, the petition had garnered more than 1,200 signatures from Newport residents and out-of-towners.

Glenn said the proposed overlay district is a “solution in search of a problem.”

The petition got the attention of several bar operators on the peninsula, many of whom attended Dixon’s town hall meeting Tuesday in search of clarity.

About 200 people packed the meeting. Topics ranged from fire rings to traffic and parking on the peninsula. However, issues related to the concentration of bars in the area dominated the discussion.

Newport Beach Police Chief Jay Johnson presented data related to “quality-of-life issues” that he said often stem from intoxicated people leaving the bars.

According to city statistics, 117 businesses on the peninsula have licenses to serve alcohol, an average of one Alcoholic Beverage Control license for every 95 residents.

In Newport Beach as a whole, the average is one ABC license for every 189 residents.

The peninsula, with 11,102 residents, makes up 13% of the city’s population.

Though crime is at an all-time low citywide — down 11.5% in 2014 from the previous year — nuisance problems on the peninsula have not gone away, Johnson said.

Peninsula residents have long complained to the city about noise, property crime and other problems caused by people walking around late at night.

Residents have shared stories of intoxicated people vomiting and urinating in front of their properties at all hours.

Of the 58 people cited for public urination last year, 49 were on the peninsula, crime statistics show.

However, that number might not be an adequate representation of what’s happening, Johnson said. For police to cite someone urinating in public, a police officer has to witness the crime as it’s occurring.

“Those 49 people urinated in front of a police officer,” Johnson said.

Intoxication also could contribute to violent crimes, he said. Of the 17 rapes in the city last year, 10 were reported on the peninsula, statistics show.

Though Dixon said the nuisance issues need to be addressed, she reiterated that the council has not made any decisions about the regulations the overlay will include.

“It’s very early in the process,” she said. “Nothing will be decided until we hear from the community.”

The City Council plans to hold a study session on the overlay district March 10.