Coastal Commission approves new junior lifeguards HQ for Newport Beach
With a recent conditional approval from the Coastal Commission, the new $4.9-million junior lifeguards headquarters in Newport Beach, first approved by the City Council last year, inches closer to construction.
The Coastal Commission unanimously approved the project, though city spokesman John Pope said the coastal development permit has not been formally approved. City staff will need to amend their proposal to respond to conditions from commission staff before it can be handed off to executive director Jack Ainsworth.
The project is an approximately 5,145-square-foot permanent facility in the A Street parking lot south of Balboa Pier that will include a meeting room, secure interior and exterior storage spaces, locker rooms, a deck area and a public restroom.
When not in use during the junior lifeguard season, the space will be used by the recreation and senior services department.
The program is active from late June to early August and employs about 60 instructors. It is seen generally as a rite of passage in Newport Beach and began operating in 1984.
Among conditions set by the Coastal Commission is a restriction barring the city from implementing any protective devices at the shoreline in the future for the building; submitting a monitoring plan for coastal erosion and flooding; and the prioritization of public events over private events that eventually will be held at the headquarters. The city will also be expected to apply for grants to help fund its fledgling scholarship program to increase diversity in its junior lifeguards.
The city of Laguna Beach Marine Safety Department held ocean lifeguard tryouts on Saturday at the Main Beach Lifeguard Tower.
Commission chair Donne Brownsey raised concerns that the planned womens’ locker room was too small. Lifeguard battalion chief Mike Ure said that although the city would like to expand on the number of female instructors, it generally attracts only about six to eight, compared to about 30 or more males.
Brownsey requested commission staff to work with the city to find a way to expand the space for the womens’ locker room as another condition to the coastal development permit.
Senior civil engineer Peter Tauscher confirmed at the Coastal Commission meeting on March 9 that the city was in agreement with all the conditions required by commission staff.
Commission staff received 12 emails in objection to the junior lifeguards headquarters project and about 23 in support.
Graham Harvey, chair of the Newport Beach Junior Lifeguard Foundation, said during public comments at the Coastal Commission meeting that organizers raised close to $2 million for the new headquarters. The foundation was required to raise $1.7 million.
Harvey said the headquarters would “provide a safe and sanitary facility for 1,600 junior lifeguards and over 55 staff members who will utilize it every year.”
Newport Beach resident and planning commissioner Erik Weigand also offered his support for the project during public comments.
“I was a junior lifeguard back in the early ’90s and I learned a tremendous respect for the ocean … I think it’s very important for our community and I wholeheartedly support the project,” said Weigand.
Noting that his wife, Krista, is a current trustee for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Weigand said having a permanent location may also be an opportunity to bring students to learn about ocean safety and how to preserve the ocean.
“I think this is a great project for our community. Not just for Newport Beach residents, but the surrounding communities, as there are a significant amount of folks that come to junior lifeguards from surrounding communities as well,” Weigand said.
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