Tire reef expansion request postponed

Paul Clinton

Rodolphe Streichenberger, who won a court ruling last year that

deemed the California Coastal Commission unconstitutional, has

postponed plans to expand the tire reef that sparked the legal and

political battle three years ago.

The Newport Beach activist shelved the plan a week ago, pulling an

application to the city’s water quality committee to add 1,000 new

tires to his existing artificial reef, which is between the Newport

and Balboa piers.

Streichenberger said he yanked the plan to take political pressure

off Newport Beach, which is applying to the commission for a Local

Coastal Plan, which, if granted, would hand over coastal development

powers to the city.

“It would be another load on their back,” Streichenberger said.

“It’s just postponed in order to alleviate and avoid a showdown.”

The outspoken Streichenberger, who founded the Newport-based

Marine Forests Society, said he would revive his reef expansion once

the city successfully pins down an approval for its plan.

Streichenberger had asked the city for a conditional permit to add

the tires to a reef that consists of PVC tubing, tires and plastic

bags. The city has jurisdiction in waters three miles out from the

shoreline.

Approving the permit could have caused the city political

headaches when it headed to the commission with the coastal plan,

Streichenberger said.

And few have spoken in support of Streichenberger’s reef,

Councilman Tod Ridgeway said.

Ridgeway is the chairman of the city committee formulating the

coastal plan. He also sits on the Coastal/Bay Water Quality

Committee, which was set to consider the item last week.

“I’m not prepared politically to crusade the Coastal Commission

without adequate scientific data supporting the concept,” Ridgeway

said. “It will allow the committee to be more objective if there is

no political consternation in our deliberation.”