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STATE OF CALIFORNIA – NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION South Coast Area Office 200 Oceangate, Suite 1000 Long Beach, CA 90802-4302 (562) 590-5071 W18b ADDENDUM March 4, 2013 TO: Coastal Commissioners and Interested Parties FROM: South Coast District Staff SUBJECT: ADDENDUM TO ITEM W18b, LOCAL COASTAL PROGRAM PERMIT APPLICATION #5-12-134 FOR THE COMMISSION MEETING OF MARCH 6, 2013. Addition to the Staff Report The addition suggested in this addendum is shown in bold italic double underlined text. For Item W18b, insert the following text after the third paragraph on Page 10 of the staff report: On Friday, March 1, 2013 staff from the City of Newport Beach asked Commission staff for input on a proposal to replace the fire rings with different recreational amenities. At Corona del Mar State Beach, the City has indicated they could convert the fire ring area to open sand beach, add five volleyball courts, a basketball court, a playground, fitness stations, and a lighted picnic shelter on the beach near the concession stand. On the west side of the Balboa Pier, the City could convert the fire ring area into open sand beach, provide an additional volleyball court close to homes, and a picnic shelter on the beach next to the parking lot. On the east side of the pier, the City could install an expanded playground area and a basketball court, but did not specify the use of the beach area currently occupied by the fire rings. Commission staff advised city staff that the alternative recreational facilities are not comparable and do not provide the same levels of service as the fire rings. Beach fire rings are a unique recreational facility for which there is no substitution. Some of the recreational amenities could be installed without removal of the fire rings. Correspondence Commission staff has received additional correspondence from members of the public about the City of Newport Beach proposal to remove the city’s beach fire rings. Six letters in support of the city’s proposal are attached. Thirty-three letters and emails in opposition to the city’s proposal are also attached. STATE OF CALIFORNIA - NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY EDMUND G. BROWN, JR., GOVERNOR CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION South Coast Area Office 200 Oceangate, Suite 1000 Long Beach, CA 90802-4302 (562) 590-5071 W18b Filed: October 22, 2012 180th Day: April 20, 2013 Staff: J.Rabin-LB Staff Report: February 22, 2013 Hearing Date: March 6-8, 2013 STAFF REPORT: REGULAR CALENDAR Application No.: 5-12-134 Applicant: City of Newport Beach Brenda Wisneski Location: Balboa Pier Area and Corona Del Mar State Beach, Newport Beach, Orange County (APNs: 048-320-03, 052-051-23, and 052-051-24) Project Description: The City of Newport Beach is seeking a coastal development permit to remove all fire rings from city beaches, including 33 fire rings in the vicinity of the Balboa Pier and 27 fire rings at Corona del Mar State Beach. Staff Recommendation: Denial SUMMARY OF STAFF RECOMMENDATION: The City of Newport Beach is seeking a coastal development permit to remove all fire rings from the city’s beaches. This includes 15 fire rings on the beach west of the Balboa Pier and 18 fire rings located on the beach east of the Balboa Pier. Another 27 fire rings would be removed from the far western edge of Corona del Mar State Beach. Corona del Mar State Beach is owned by the state Department of Parks and Recreation and operated by the City of Newport Beach. The beach fire rings have been a part of the recreational experience in Newport Beach since the late 1940s or early 1950s and are a lower cost visitor and recreational facility. Pursuant to Coastal Act Section 30213: “Lower cost visitor and recreational facilities shall be protected, encouraged, and where feasible, provided. Developments providing public recreational opportunities are preferred.” The fire rings are enjoyed by generations of beachgoers, are very popular and in heavy demand, particularly during the busy summer months. On summer weekends, it is not unusual to have to arrive at the beach when it opens at 6 a.m. in order to claim a fire ring for use later in the afternoon 5-12-134 (City of Newport Beach) or evening. The fire rings are available to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis. There is no charge for their use. Staff is recommending denial because removal of the fire rings would deny the public access to this popular form of lower cost public recreation. In addition, removing the fire rings from the beaches at Newport Beach and Corona del Mar would shift the already high demand for fire rings to other coastal locations, creating new access and recreation demands there. Thus, removal of the fire rings would not be consistent with Section 30212.5 of the Coastal Act, requiring public facilities, like the fire pits, to be distributed throughout an area so as to mitigate against the impacts of overcrowding or overuse by the public of any single area. In its application, the City of Newport Beach proposes to remove the fire rings because of “potential ill health effects to beachgoers and nearby residents due to smoke and particulate matter from fires within the fire rings.” The city relies on a regulation adopted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District that prohibited the installation of new wood-burning fireplaces or wood stoves in new residential and commercial construction. However, Rule 445 adopted in 2008 exempts “campfires, beach bonfires and ceremonial burning.” The city has submitted general scientific studies about the potential health effects of wood smoke, especially particulate matter, in an effort to justify removal of the fire rings. The City Council and the Newport Beach Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission heard from nearby residents who claim to have suffered adverse health effects from wood smoke they attribute to the fire rings and they want them removed. However, the City Council also heard from supporters of keeping the fire rings in place. According to a City Council staff report dated March 13, 2012, two members of the city’s Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission urged the city at a February 2012 meeting to conduct an air quality study, but the city chose not to do such a study or to collect air samples from the beaches or adjacent neighborhoods. In response to questions from Commission staff, the city said such a study and sampling would have been inconclusive about the source of the particulate matter. Commission staff does not dispute that some individuals can have adverse health effects from wood smoke. However, the City has not demonstrated that the wood smoke from the City’s beach fire rings are directly responsible for a public health problem. The city acknowledges there is no state or local air quality regulation that prohibits beach fire rings and, as indicated above, the submitted information has not shown that the beach fire rings create such negative impacts as to warrant their removal. There are a variety of other sources of smoke and odors in these areas including private fireplaces, private outdoor fire rings, barbeques, exhaust from both marine and terrestrial diesel vehicles and restaurant equipment vents that would contribute to air quality conditions. Furthermore, there are a variety of measures/alternatives that could be undertaken, short of removing the public beach fire rings, that might address air quality conditions, including but not limited to enforcing the existing prohibition on burning all materials other than wood and the existing rules about the type and quantity of wood being used in beach fire rings. A Commission decision to approve Newport Beach’s request to remove the fire rings could also set a precedent that could lead to removal of beach fire rings from other parts of the coast. It is for these reasons that the Commission staff recommends that the City’s request for a CDP to remove the fire rings be denied. 2 5-12-134 (City of Newport Beach) All of the sites involved are in the coastal zone, subject to the commission’s jurisdiction. The City of Newport Beach has a certified Land Use Plan, but does not have a certified Local Coastal Program. The legal standard of review is Chapter 3 policies of the Coastal Act relating to public access and recreation. The City of Newport Beach certified Land Use Plan can be used as guidance. STAFF NOTE REGARDING PUBLIC COMMENT The fire ring issue has generated intense controversy in Newport Beach. Some homeowners, particularly those immediately adjacent to Corona del Mar State Beach, have been active in supporting the city’s proposal to remove the fire rings. They’ve written letters, sent emails, testified at city hearings and recruited support from organizations across the country that oppose wood burning fires on health grounds. “It is just plain UNHEALTHY,” wrote Daniel J. Leonard, president of the Breakers Drive Homeowners Association, which represents homeowners who live in the subdivision next to the beach. “Now is the time to clean our air, not only for local residents but also for all people enjoying the beaches.” (Exhibit #12) Officials working for two public agencies sent comments on the hazards of wood smoke. (Exhibit #13) Comments also have been received from members of the public opposed to removal of the fire rings. (Exhibit #14) Some opponents mobilized by establishing a website with an electronic petition calling on the city and the Coastal Commission to keep the fire rings. More than 5,500 people signed the on-line petition and nearly 800 wrote comments.

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