Newport Beach reopens its beaches for active use
Newport Beach’s shoreline partially reopened Wednesday after receiving state approval for an “active recreational use” plan.
Like its neighbors Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach and San Clemente, which got the state OK to partially reopen this week, Newport’s beaches will allow walking, running, bicycle riding, swimming, surfing and other board sports, kayaking and fishing from 5 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.
Sunbathing, passive games and loitering are still prohibited. Beachgoers must also not gather with people from outside their immediate household, even if engaged in active recreation. Beach parking lots will remain closed.
Gov. Gavin Newsom put all Orange County beaches under a hard closure on Friday after crowds sought the sun and sand here during a heat wave the previous weekend. Newsom said the beach days, several weeks into sweeping statewide stay-at-home orders, threatened to send awry attempts to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
Huntington Beach and Dana Point reacted to the targeted closure with a lawsuit, which remains active. Newport didn’t join the suit as a plaintiff, but formally supported the litigation.
Newport Beach City Councilwoman Diane Dixon, whose district includes Balboa Peninsula, said she was relieved that the governor’s office approved Newport’s plan.
“This proves that the punitive ‘hard close’ of Orange County beaches was unnecessary from the beginning,” she said. “Our city plan was always aimed at a big picture goal of public health and safety and was rooted in the most up-to-date knowledge of how COVID-19 spreads. I am glad people will continue to enjoy their right to open spaces and hope this marks the beginning of a common-sense approach to reopening from Newsom.”
With some restrictions still in place, the seagulls outnumbered the people near Balboa Pier after the closure loosened. But it wasn’t all silent and still: joggers left ephemeral footprints in the wet sand, young women laughed from the cool tickle of incoming seafoam on their bare feet, and children towed garlands of seaweed out of the surf longer than they were tall.
Many Orange County beaches have reopened following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s brief “hard closure,” but their hours vary.
Chuck Lankford, 59, is an Orange County native. He considers Newport one of his beaches, and he needed it.
“All I wanted to do is get my toes wet,” said Lankford, whose work as a hairstylist in Brea is on hold. “I’ve had a really tough week and I need to get my beach time.”
He took selfies and had sand caking his royal blue Hawaiian shirt as he soaked in the day.
“I needed some beach therapy,” he said, and he got it.
A couple of hundred of feet away, a family sat in the sun under an umbrella with two infants and their toys while older children darted in and out of the water.
Kiki, who declined to give her last name, was there with her son, daughter and two baby granddaughters “enjoying my freedom and liberty to be in the sun whenever I want to be.”
Kiki, 44, was ready to escape the indoors.
“It starts doing stuff to you mentally, you know?”
The city of Huntington Beach gets approval from the state to reopen beaches Tuesday, five days after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered them shut down.
Dana Point and Seal Beach also reopened this week, making Newport the final city on Orange County’s coastline to officially return to the sand although county-run beaches in South County remain closed.
Newsom praised Newport by name Wednesday for being part of a “collaborative spirit” around the state.
“The leadership there, to their credit, they modeled their reopening plans along the lines of those that were advanced yesterday in Huntington Beach and Seal Beach, among others,” he said at his daily news conference, adding that Orange County is working on some final points to open the county-run beaches.
“I have been working closely with all of our coastal cities in order to safely and responsibly reopen our treasured local beaches,” said Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach) in a statement Wednesday. “This spirit of collaboration and cooperation is absolutely critical as we confront this pandemic and navigate California’s recovery.”
“With today’s approval of Newport Beach’s plan, local residents can access almost every beach in coastal Orange County,” said Rep. Harley Rouda (D-Laguna Beach) in a statement.
Laguna Beach city beaches opened Tuesday to active sand and water use and will remain open on weekdays only, from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. The city initially approved the limited reopening of city beaches prior to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mandated closures of Orange County beaches.
Rouda came under fire this week after CBS News reported that the congressman stepped out on a private residential beach last weekend.
“Our beaches are more than tourist attractions,” Rouda added. “They are crucial recreational spaces that everyone should be able to access in a safe and socially-distanced manner.”
“The city is very pleased to reopen our beaches for the physical and mental well-being of our residents,” Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill said in a statement. “While the active recreation model was not the preferred choice by the City Council after discussions with our public safety personnel, we are confident that city staff will manage the beaches effectively under the approved plan.”
City Councilman Kevin Muldoon, who is personally suing Newsom in federal court over the closure, was more pointedly critical of the “active” component.
“The state made it clear to Orange County coastal cities that they would only approve plans to reopen our beaches for limited ‘recreational’ uses,” said Muldoon, whose suit also remains active. “This denies access to anyone with mobility issues on sand and is a violation of the [Americans With Disabilities Act].”
The county had 131 new cases and four deaths reported Wednesday, according to numbers from the Orange County Health Care Agency.
City public safety personnel will first and foremost strive for education over citation, O’Neill added.
In addition, Newport Harbor remains open for all normally allowed water activities. The city also opened its 16 public tennis courts Wednesday for singles play only.
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