Sounding Board -- BETTY J. BERKSHIRE

People around City Hall and their developer friends are fond of saying

that the beach in front of Marinapark is underutilized and they conclude

that it is because there is a mobile home park occupying the inland side

of the property. They take this argument one step further and contend

that if they only had a five-star hotel there instead, the general public

would come.

Access to the beach is now available from either Las Arenas Park

walkway -- 16th Street and Balboa Boulevard -- or the beach on West Bay

Avenue at 18th Street with a public walkway spanning the length of the

mobile home park.

The proposal under consideration -- as revealed at the public forum

July 9 is to block off the existing beach access by creating two marinas:

one at 15th and 16th streets for the proposed hotel and another at 18th

Street for the relocated American Legion Post 291. They say that the

walkway in front of what is now the mobile home park would remain open to

the public. How does this plan create greater access?

They say that hotel management will invite public activities, such as

sailing lessons, to stimulate usage. Well, duh. Public sailing lessons

are already conducted from that beach. And in addition to current usage,

the beach is a favorite stopping place for the Boy Scouts and other

day-campers, kayakers and small boaters. There is an annual Southern

California outrigger competition that starts and finishes from that

beach, with outrigger clubs lining the shore from 19th to the existing

American Legion Hall.

Almost every evening, young people fish from that beach while their

families play nearby. Occasionally, a small church group conducts

baptisms in the shallow waters and enjoys a picnic with their families

and friends afterward. The beach is also used as a resting place by both

resident and migratory birds.

Now, envision a five-star resort hotel occupying the place of the

mobile homes. If you were paying $400 to $500 per night for a room at

such a hotel with a sandy beach out front, wouldn’t you expect the hotel

to provide lounges, towels and cabanas, food and beverages for your

comfort? Do you see the hotel guests willing to compete for space with

the aforementioned groups? Would you, as John Q. Public, feel comfortable

and welcome in such an environment? Do you see members and guests sharing

accommodations with the public on the beach in front of the Balboa Bay

Club -- which is also located on city tidelands property?

The major reason that the beach is underutilized is because of lack of

convenient parking. There is a small city parking lot at the corner of

Balboa Boulevard at 18th Street, and curbside parking along 15th and 18th

streets.

The hotel proposal eliminates all existing parking and creates only 72

net new parking spaces for use by employees and guests of the 156-room

resort, American Legionnaires, Girl Scouts and the public. You do the

math. We could go on and talk about the probability of the hotel sharing

use of the tennis courts with the public, but you get the idea.

What should be done with Marinapark? The better question would be:

What should not be done with Marinapark?

We think the unanimous answer would be: a hotel.

* BETTY J. BERKSHIRE is a Newport Beach resident.