Newport may crack down on private use of parks

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- Standing on a tiny stretch of grass called

Inspiration Point in Corona del Mar, it’s easy to understand why the park

ranks high among the city’s favorite wedding locations.

Overlooking Corona del Mar State Beach and the jetties beyond and

commanding sweeping views of the ocean, the bluff top lawn near the

intersection of Ocean Boulevard and Orchid Avenue has a perfect backdrop

for those who want to say “I do.”

So does Lookout Point, a similar park just down the road near

Goldenrod Avenue, for that matter.

But weddings usually come with sizable crowds that quickly fill up the

parks and leave little room for others who want to enjoy the views.

“It’s a serious problem,” said Councilman Dennis O’Neil, who asked

city officials to look into the matter. “I think that this

commercialization of these areas is getting a little out of control.”

O’Neil, who made it clear that he has nothing against weddings, said

residents had complained about the park takeover. And just as the city

wouldn’t want excursion boats or tourist buses to clog the bay or its

streets, the private use of public parks should be regulated, he said.

“There is a line someplace where you need to make sure that individual

groups are not overusing public areas so that the public can’t use it,”

he said.

For decades, private groups have been able to reserve city parks for

parties, picnics, family reunions and weddings, among others.

A 1975 City Council policy states that “commercial uses of public park

lands may be desirable in certain circumstances to provide revenues to

offset maintenance costs” for parks.

But LaDonna Kienitz, the city’s community services director, said fees

to reserve parks are minimal and don’t contribute a lot of money to

maintenance.

And people who bother to get the city’s permission to use parks don’t

seem to cause any problems.

“The things that we’re getting complaints about aren’t necessarily

things that are permitted,” said Andrea McGuire, the city’s senior

recreation manager, adding that the city doesn’t issue an “outlandish”

number of permits.

The question then becomes how to regulate the use of a public park by

large groups, she said.

“It is a public park,” McGuire said. “So how can you -- based on

policies, procedures and codes -- prevent people from taking over a

park?”

That’s an issue McGuire and a subcommittee of the city’s Parks,

Beaches and Recreation Commission talked about during a meeting Monday

afternoon.

McGuire said the group would probably schedule another session before

taking its recommendations to the full commission by September.

After that, council members will likely discuss the matter again and

this could result in new regulations for the use of public parks.

City Atty. Bob Burnham said he didn’t think doing so would be a

problem.

“Since parks are for everybody, we certainly can adopt regulations to

ensure equal access to the parks,” he said.

O’Neil said he’d “abide by whatever ruling that comes back” from the

commission, but added that he expected them to consider raising park

rental fees and employing park rangers to patrol areas on weekends.

* Mathis Winkler covers Newport Beach. He may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 mathis.winkler@latimes.comf7 .