Fee Approved for Intruding Beach Patios : Oceanfront: Residents will pay $100 to $600 per year for permits to encroach on public land.

NEWPORT BEACH —  Ending years of debate over what to do about hundreds of oceanfront patios that extend illegally onto the beach, the City Council on Monday night approved homeowners fees that will be used to improve coastal access for the public.

The council passed the measure 7 to 1, with Councilman John Hedges dissenting.

“I think the city is giving up too much,” Hedges said.

Only three speakers appeared before the council--all in opposition to the new policy. They said they objected to the boundary lines set forth in the policy and the fact that encroachment permits can be revocable.

“It would certainly concern me, if I were a resident, to be required to waive and give up rights to protest the city’s validity rights,” said Thomas Camardi Jr., an attorney who represents a resident on Seashore Drive.

Under the plan, those with patios extending beyond their property lines will pay fees of $100 to $600 a year for encroachment permits, based on how far their patios extend into public property. The proceeds are earmarked for improvements to 33 public access points to the beach, including features that will help the handicapped.

More than 295 homes will be affected along three miles of oceanfront from the Santa Ana River to the Balboa Peninsula, where owners have built retaining walls, patios, decks and fire pits as far as 27 feet onto public easements.

By paying a $600 fee, homeowners will be allowed to encroach a maximum of 15 feet beyond their property lines. Residents who live within four blocks of the Balboa Pier, however, will be required to pay $300 for 7 1/2-foot encroachments.

For years, the common practice of building out onto the beach went unchecked until the state Coastal Commission notified city officials in 1988 that the intrusions might violate state law.

At the time, the commission suggested that the city extend a sidewalk in West Newport to enhance the public’s access to the beach. But the recommendation prompted a yearlong protest from residents who said the sidewalk would lead to dangerous situations for children and cause a dramatic increase in traffic.

Jerry Cobb, former chairman of the Newport Beach Encroachment Committee, called the plan “a reasonable compromise.”