Planners puzzled over Bayside’s stance on Dunes

Noaki Schwartz

NEWPORT BEACH -- The president of the Bayside Village Homeowners Assn. on

Thursday said the organization can’t endorse the Newport Dunes resort

project, confusing planning commissioners who previously received a

letter indicating otherwise.

“I thought they were in support of the project,” said chair Ed Selich of

the Jan. 14 letter, in which association leaders wrote that they

supported the Dunes developers.

But at Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting, association president Jo

M. Smallwood told the panel that while Bayside appreciated the Dunes’

efforts to relieve residents’ concerns regarding the $100-million

project, the board “could not give [its] endorsement.”

The Bayside homeowners’ association had been negotiating with the Dunes

for months on more ways to alleviate increased noise and traffic from the

hotel. The controversial proposal is for a 400-room, 100-unit, time-share

resort with 55,000 square feet of conference space that could bring as

much as $1.3 million to city coffers annually.

At their Jan. 8 meeting, association members voted to approve two items

that they believed would reduce the impacts. This included building a

gatehouse and moving the proposed sound wall closer to Dunes property.

Following this decision, the group sent a signed letter to the Planning

Commission saying it supported the idea of the gatehouse and the

placement of the sound wall. The end of the letter stated that the

association extended “a vote of confidence to the project developers of

the Dunes.”

As a result, Smallwood’s conflicting statement at the recent planning

meeting puzzled commissioners.

“I don’t know what it means,” said commissioner Mike Kranzley. “The

association as a body seemed to endorse the project. The letter said ‘we

extend a vote of confidence.’ To me, that says they support the project.”

When asked if the association was therefore opposing the development,

Smallwood was equally unclear.

“It’s a very gray area and a very fine line. It’s one that I can’t

cross,” she said, adding that the association could not give a blanket

endorsement of the project, but did support the Dunes’ offers to ease

residents’ concerns about noise and traffic.

Part of the confusion stems from the fact that the community is sharply

divided on the project. While some, like Smallwood, believe the

development would increase Bayside’s property values and would be

aesthetically pleasing, others feel it would disturb their quiet

community.

Still, among the more than 250 residents in the mobile home park, only

about 35% of the association members showed up to approve the measures

that the group had been negotiating with the Dunes, Smallwood said.

“I perceived it as an endorsement,” said project manager Tim Quinn,

adding that while he would have preferred total support, conditional

endorsement was acceptable.

“They endorsed it as much as they could.”