Concerns prompt report

The city of Newport Beach has ordered an environmental impact report on the proposed Aerie condominium project in Corona del Mar, following the complaints of residents who say the development would damage a coastal bluff and block views of the ocean.

According to David Lepo, the Newport Beach planning director, the city asked an environmental consultant to prepare the report and expects it by the end of the year. When the report is in, the Planning Commission will host a public hearing on the Aerie project before voting on whether to forward the matter to the City Council.

Jennifer Friend, an attorney who represents a number of residents opposed to the project, said news of the coming report was a relief.

“We’re very encouraged by the fact that the city is conducting an environmental impact report,” she said. “We feel the evidence that was presented to the City Council through expert testimony established that the Aerie project will have a negative environmental impact on the surrounding area.”

The project, which would replace a dilapidated apartment building and a vacant house on Carnation Avenue with eight luxury condominiums, has already gone multiple times before the Planning Commission and City Council.

The council heard public opinions on the project again in July, with four of the council members voicing support for the development. After persistent concerns voiced by neighbors, however, the city opted for an environmental impact report with the developer’s blessing, Lepo said.

Previously, the city’s consultant drafted a different kind of report — known as a negative declaration — on Aerie, but asked for an environmental impact report because it offered deeper analysis. A city may draft a negative declaration, which states that a project will have no major environmental consequences, if there is no substantial evidence that the development may cause trouble, but the city must prepare an environmental impact report — also know as an EIR — if there is reason to believe otherwise.

With Aerie, Lepo said, two major issues were the fact that new boat slips may block views off the coastal bluff, and that the bluff’s rock formation may be damaged by excavation.

“You don’t need to be a technical expert in eyesight to say the presence of those boats and what they block is a significant impact,” Lepo said. “You don’t need credentials for that. But in terms of geology, yes, you do need some street cred there.”

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.