Marina in Lido Marina Village to be replaced

EUREKA—Plans to remove and replace a private marina in Newport Beach were approved by the California Coastal Commission, Aug. 8. The updated Lido Marina will be 5,358 square feet in size, almost 1,000 square feet smaller than the current marina. Also to be included in the new marina are an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant gangway (400 square feet) and ADA compliant gangway platform (80 square feet).

A 175-square-foot cantilevered public boardwalk attached to Lido Marina will remain in place, according to Coastal Commission staff.

Coastal Commission staff added the project, overall, “avoids adverse impacts to marine resources” while “enabling recreational boating” and allowing the marina currently in place to be “usable.”

Yet the project could be problematic to water quality, according to a Coastal Commission staff report.

“The proposed project, because of its location over the water, has potential for adverse impacts to water quality and marine resources during construction and post construction. Therefore, special conditions have been imposed in order to minimize any impacts to water quality and marine resources,” Coastal Commission staff stated in a report to commissioners.

The project applicant – Batavia Business Park LLC – is required to manage and remove marine debris during construction and submit a Marina Management Plan under the Clean Marina Program.

Public access was also a point of contention between the Coastal Commission and Batavia Business Park.

“The main point of disagreement between commission staff and the applicant concerns public access. The proposed project consists of replacement of a private marina over and in Newport Bay, which is public tidelands managed by the city of Newport Beach,” Coastal Commission staff stated in a report to commissioners. “The proposed private development would interfere with future development of a public boardwalk along this portion of Lido Marina Village/Lido Marina, which is a priority of the city’s certified LCP and would provide valuable public access to and along coastal waters.”

The Coastal Commission imposed upon Batavia Business Park a requirement “to submit revised plans acknowledging the potential future expansion of the lateral public accessway in Lido Marina Village … and to redesign the proposed gangway platform and gangway so that the structures do not interfere with, and can accommodate, potential future expansion of an unobstructed lateral public access way.”

Representatives of Batavia Business Park told Coastal Commission staff the marina, which measures 6,344 square feet in size, must be replaced because “the docks are in disrepair.”

Lido Marina has been a private visitor-serving commercial marina since 1955. It is one of the largest private commercial marinas in Newport Beach Marina, according to Coastal Commission staff.

“The marina accommodates a variety of uses, from individual recreational users to chartered functions,” Coastal Commission staff stated. “The portion of the marina proposed to be redeveloped on the subject site is located at the eastern extent of Lido Marina and ends in the area where landside development transitions from commercial development to residential development.

“The docks located at the subject marina are rented out to the public and will continue to be if the commission approves the project,” Coastal Commission staff continues. “No commercial vessels currently or in the future will be berthed in this marina.”

Reducing water coverage was one of Batavia Business Park’s stated goals for the marina update.

“The proposed project design allows for a greater variety of vessels to be berthed at this location; either multiple smaller vessels or a single large vessel may be accommodated in each slip with this design,” Coastal Commission staff stated. “In one scenario, the new marina can accommodate two 38-foot boats and three 80-foot boats on the east side of the marina and three 90-foot boats on the west side of the marina.”

Lido Marina is home to 11 slips and six side-ties. The breakdown of slips is as follows: five 50-foot full slips, three 45-foot full slips, one 62-foot full slip, two 40-foot full slips, three 57-foot side tie slips, one 52-foot side tie slip, one 32-foot side tie slip, and one 139-foot side tie slip.

“The proposed marina will have five full slips and two side tie slips for a total of seven that specifically includes: one 91-foot side tie slip, three 83-foot full slips, two 91-foot full slips, and one 99-foot side tie slip,” according to Coastal Commission staff.