250 outdoor events, with noise monitoring, are OK at Newport Dunes, the city decides
The Newport Beach City Council voted Tuesday night to affirm a cut in the number of special events that Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort can host this year under a single city permit.
The council also left in place a Planning Commission decision to give Newport Dunes a conditional use permit allowing multiple outdoor events without having to approach the city for an individual permit each time.
The council’s 6-0 decision, with Mayor Diane Dixon absent, comes on the heels of complaints from Dover Shores residents about noise from outdoor events at the 100-acre resort in Upper Newport Bay, which for years has been a site for public gatherings such as festivals, concerts, weddings and parties.
City staff, Newport Dunes leadership and Dover Shores residents have held meetings in the past month in an effort to come to a compromise about the number of events at the resort.
Newport Dunes has agreed to reduce the number of outdoor events with fewer than 1,000 people to 250 for the rest of this year. In February, it requested a conditional use permit that would allow it to annually host 500 such events and 14 larger outdoor events. Previously, the resort would have to approach the city to receive a permit for each outdoor event. In 2015, the venue applied for 155 permits for special events, according to city records.
The Planning Commission approved the February request with a list of conditions intended to minimize noise impacts on neighbors, such as the use of special sound equipment, acoustic plastic walls, heavy theatrical curtains and curfews.
However, Dover Shores residents spoke against the single permit, saying noise from Newport Dunes has increased over the years.
In response to residents’ concerns, Councilman Marshall “Duffy” Duffield requested that the City Council review the Planning Commission’s decision.
In addition to cutting the number of events this year, Newport Dunes agreed to have a professional sound monitor present at all events with amplified sound to ensure that noise doesn’t spill into surrounding neighborhoods. Residents will be able to call the sound monitor during events if they have an issue with noise, staff said.
“The Dunes management seems to want to do everything they possibly can to keep Dover Shores from being bombarded with noise,” Duffield said Tuesday.
Ron Weinstein, president of the Dover Shores Homeowners Assn., said Tuesday that he appreciates the resort’s effort to be a good neighbor.
“We just want to put controls on it so neighbors aren’t disturbed when we’re putting our children to bed,” he said. “We want to continue moving forward. I believe what that takes is a slow approach to growth.”
The Planning Commission will review the conditional use permit in a year. Newport Dunes currently is allowed to have 500 outdoor events for fewer than 1,000 people in 2017.
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Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
