Lease agreements approved for Balboa Marina expansion into county tidelands

Improvements and expansions may soon come to the Balboa Marina, with recent approval of lease agreements between the Irvine Co. and the county by the Orange County Board of Supervisors during the board’s final meeting of 2022.

While construction dates remain unclear, the scope of the proposed project will expand the marina, which has 105 existing boat slips, by 26 private slips and establish a public dock that, upon completion, will be donated to Newport Beach. The private dock is expected to include about 12 no-cost side ties that will be operated and maintained by the city.

The marina was originally built in the early 1960s and rebuilt in its current configuration in 2009, according to the Irvine Co.

“The improvements at Balboa Marina will create important new public access and recreational opportunities in lower Newport Bay,” said Irvine Co. spokesman Ryan Lilyengren in a statement Thursday. “We appreciate the partnership with the city of Newport Beach, the county of Orange and the California Coastal Commission to help make this access possible.”

Irvine Co. initially reached out to the county in 2016 to negotiate usage of county tidelands for seven of the 26 private slips, according to a staff report prepared for the Board of Supervisors’ meeting. About seven of the side ties for the public dock are also located in county tideland. There is currently no use for the county tidelands in this specific area, as the shore is controlled by the Irvine Co.

County staff said the company conducted necessary environmental studies and mitigation work in the intervening years and reached out to the county again this past August to continue lease negotiations. Approved this week were an option-to-lease agreement and two additional lease agreements between the Irvine Co., the county and the city of Newport Beach.

The Irvine Co. will pay a monthly rent of $3,500 for the use of the premises, with that rent adjusted by 3% every three years. Every 10 years, the rent will be adjusted by the greater of fair market rent or the consumer price index. The lease is currently in a term of 30 years with an option to extend it for an additional 15 years.

The city will not pay rent, as the public dock will be open at no cost to the public.

“We are greatly underserved in that section of Newport,” Mayor Noah Blom said during the board’s hearing. “We don’t have a public dock space available. This is something that the Irvine Co. will take on at their own expense that will be able to be used by all county residents and anyone frequenting the harbor at that spot.

“It’s also a place of great commerce that doesn’t have direct access other than the individual private docks to some of those businesses. So, it’s something the city has really been pushing for.”

Blom said it’s his hope the improvements and additional boat slips will improve public access to Newport Harbor.

“I’m grateful that we’re going to get seven new public docks. I think that’s wonderful for the community,” said Supervisor Katrina Foley, whose district now includes Newport Beach.

Foley added that she heard from boat owners that they had nowhere to tie up to enjoy some of the amenities along Newport Harbor.

Board Vice Chairman Donald Wagner described the project as a “testament ... to the way government ought to be done, that is with the county working with the city working with the private entities that have an interest in the project and bringing something to the public that the public very much wants, needs.”

Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.