Local Coastal Plan is new front

June Casagrande

A Greenlight member worries the document will allow too much dense

development. A developers’ representative wants to change its

wording, possibly to benefit a hotel project. A city official worries

it will severely restrict homeowners’ ability to build into bluffs.

Sound like the General Plan? It’s not.

The city’s Local Coastal Plan is quickly shaping up to be the new

battlefront over development in the city, where heavyweights on every

side of the issue are angling for influence and finding power in the

fine print.

“The Local Coastal Plan is an extremely important document that

will have different impacts on different parts of the city,” said

Councilman Steve Bromberg, a member of the committee that created the

document.

On Thursday, the Planning Commission will consider whether to

endorse the plan in its current form or with revisions. The plan is

basically a local interpretation of the Coastal Act, and the city is

required by law to implement a local plan. In fact, the city is late

and has been paying a $1,000-a-month fine since June.

But as city officials race to comply with state law, it’s becoming

clear that details of the plan will have tremendous power to shape

the city’s future, especially in terms of development.

Lido Marina Village is a prime example. Just a week after news

broke that developers hope to build a luxury resort there, the

Planning Commission will consider changes to the Coastal Plan

suggested by a representative of those developers.

Carol Hoffman of Government Solutions Inc. has suggested some new

wording under the section that deals with visitor-serving and

recreational development -- wording that has made it onto the

commission’s agenda.

Hoffman has suggested changing a paragraph that said the city

should “preserve existing and new waterfront-oriented commercial

uses” to “encourage consolidation of waterfront parcels to stimulate

new or revitalized waterfront-oriented commercial uses.”

Hoffman said she believes the document must be very specific to

avoid confusion in the future.

“Unless we pay attention to every single word, it may not be

interpreted correctly in the future,” she said.

Another provision of the plan could also affect development in

Lido Marina Village: Unlike the General Plan, which designates Lido

Marina Village as “retail and service commercial,” the proposed Local

Coastal Plan defines it as “visitor-serving commercial” --

terminology that allows hotels.

The discrepancy raises another concern about the coastal plan:

What will happen if it comes into direct conflict with the city’s

General Plan, which is still under construction?

“That’s my biggest concern,” said Planning Commissioner Barry

Eaton, who has also helped write the General Plan.

Until the commission got its first look at the document two weeks

ago, its wording left some to believe that the Local Coastal Plan

would trump the General Plan. In response to concerns of Eaton and

others, staff members have recommended changes that would consider

such conflicts on a case-by-case basis.

Greenlight steering committee member Tom Billings said he had

identified a number of areas where the coastal plan and the general

plan conflict on the question of how densely some areas can be

developed. For example, in Lido Marina Village, the coastal plan

allows development up to 66% higher in some areas than does the

General Plan.

“This ‘upzoning’ may cause traffic problems and impact public

access, place stress on biological resources and infrastructure and

cause water-quality degradation,” Billings said.

Eaton also said he was concerned that the document may be too

tough on owners of homes local bluffs, but Bromberg said the

committee drafted the document to reflect the city’s current rules on

bluffs development.

“When it comes down to the interests of environmental versus

development, we want to err on the side of environmental,” said Mayor

Tod Ridgeway, who is chairman of the Local Coastal Plan Committee.

The plan deals with much more than just development, Ridgeway

said. The document also lays out the citywide plan for coastal access

and bluffs development. Most notable to some community members, once

it’s in place, people would be able to request some building and

development permits from the city instead of the Coastal Commission.

Once the Planning Commission has made its recommendation, the

matter will go back to the committee, then to the City Council for

approval, and then to the Coastal Commission for final approval.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

[email protected].