NEWPORT BEACH : Coast Panel to Study Encroachment Rules

The California Coastal Commission will review the city’s beachfront encroachment policy during a January meeting, City Manager Robert L. Wynn said Friday.

The beachfront encroachment policy, hammered out by the City Council and city committees over the past year, says that residents in west Newport may extend private decks, patios and gardens up to 15 feet into the sand if they pay an annual fee to the city.

Some residents of the peninsula can encroach up to 7 feet into the public right of way.

The final vote on the policy came after hours of public testimony about the encroachments.

If the Coastal Commission approves the policy, then it will become a part of the city’s land-use plan. If not, then the council may adapt the policy to address the specific concerns of the commission or start the process all over and draft a new policy.

“We’ve got to kind of wait and see how it goes,” Wynn said. “Every indication that we’ve had so far is that (the policy) is going to have a 50-50 chance.”

The commission meeting, scheduled for Jan. 8-11, will be held in Marina del Rey. Wynn said that within the next 10 days, the city will be notified as to which date has been selected for the half-hour public hearing and ensuing discussion.

The January meeting is the city’s last opportunity for the hearing to be held locally, since the February meeting is scheduled to be held in the Northern California town of Eureka. As is, some homeowner groups are arranging for buses to transport residents to the February meeting despite the 30-minute limitation for testimony on the issue.