Save Newport Real News in Newport Beach
It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that we lost more than half of the oceanside fire rings at the Coastal Commission vote.
Here’s the breakdown:
Currently, we have 60 fire rings, all of them wood-burning (as of the vote on Jan 13th). They are divided between Balboa Pier and CdM.
Assuming the CdM vote goes the same way, we will get 64 rings, by doing the following:
– 30 on Balboa Pier, less than half woodburning.
– 30 in CdM, less than half woodburning.
– 4 NEW wood-burning fire rings by the Back Bay.
However, of the 60 oceanside rings, 32 of them will be charcoal only.
All the people who insisted a charcoal pit is a “fire” ring were being intentionally disingenuous in order to further their own agendas. This is a sad and tragic loss for Newport Beach, our visitors, and our vibrant character which spans back to our founding over 100 years ago.
A big thank you to Mark Vargas at the Coastal Commission whose vote was the only one which made sense for public beach access.
I am happy that we were able to save 28 of our 60 oceanside fire rings to burn wood, but I am highly disappointed that we lost so many– especially after council voted on Jan 13th to restore them all. Because of that exact vote by council, the product of this vote by the Coastal Commission still needs to be approved by the City Council– no word yet on when they are going to bring this up to a vote. One thing is for sure, though: I will keep you updated.
