NEWPORT BEACH : Deadline for Permits Extended

Homeowners with patios, decks and other additions that encroach onto public beach will have about two more months to apply for permits under a new city policy approved last week.

May 30 is the new deadline to apply for the encroachment permits, which enable residents to keep their patios but require them to pay a fee for using the public beach. The previous deadline had been Sept. 30, 1991.

The City Council gave initial approval to policy amendments at a February meeting, but referred the changes to the state Coastal Commission to ensure they were acceptable.

“The city attorney had wanted to discuss the issue with the (commission) staff,” said Public Works Director Benjamin J. Nolan. “That discussion did not result in any changes.”

The amendments are intended to clarify the new rules as homeowners begin to comply with them. The new policy was put in place last July after a number of heated public hearings on the issue.

Under the revised policy, some small encroachments may be allowed, and individual homeowners can appeal to the Public Works Department for permission. The Coastal Commission added that such discretion is acceptable as long as it does not stray from the intent of the regulation.

Since the new policy went into effect last July, about a third of the estimated 245 property owners with patios, fences, gates and walls that jut into public beachfront property have applied for permits and paid fees.

Encroachment permits cost homeowners between $100 and $600 annually, depending on how far onto public land the additions extend. The maximum allowed is 15 feet, and any structure using even a few inches of beach property requires a permit.

Homeowners with encroaching properties who have not yet complied with the policy will need to do so by May 30 or face penalties.