Coastal commission reviewing Scout plans

Paul Clinton

MARINERS MILE -- The California Coastal Commission doesn’t like the

view from afar, at least as it relates to a new Boy Scouts sea base.

Local leaders with the Boy Scouts of America’s Orange Council Chapter

have run into the commission’s thorny disapproval of their expansion

plans for the base.

The new base, as planned, would reduce the view of Newport Harbor by

about 20% as seen from West Coast Highway, said the base’s director, Bill

Mountford.

“They’re having a tough time with it because we’re blocking a little

bit of the view corridor,” Mountford said.

However, Mountford is working closely with commission staff members to

iron out the concerns.

For now, the base expansion is set to be considered by the full

commission at its monthly meeting in February, said coastal program

analyst Fernie Sy.

“[The] staff is still evaluating the project,” Sy said.

The Scouts have been working to expand their digs from 9,942 square

feet to 22,060 square feet since June 1998.

The group plans to add a new two-story building and driveway to the

base, at 1931 W. Coast Highway. The L-shaped addition to the current

structure would be used primarily for sailing activities.

Also, the current building would be torn down and replaced with

another two-story building, to be used primarily for classroom space. It

would be located near Orange Coast College’s sailing headquarters.

The $4.5-million project is designed to serve the group’s growing

needs. Mountford has said between 50,000 and 60,000 people a year could

use the base by 2010, up from the 30,000 who use it now.

The base expansion plans were approved by the Newport Beach Planning

Commission in May. Early on, before the approval, commissioners raised

some of the same concerns now being talked about by the coastal

commission.

The project was approved after it was somewhat downsized, Planning

Commissioner Mike Kransley said.

“They changed it,” Kransley said. “They reduced the impact. We thought

we had made the project a better project.”

The new sailing building would add 8,215 square feet to the existing

structure, which would be significantly remodeled. The base’s parking lot

would be changed to hold 40 cars. Also, a driveway would be cut into the

entryway so parents could drop their Scouts off at the base away from the

speeding cars of the highway.

* Paul Clinton covers the environment and John Wayne Airport. He may

be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail ato7

[email protected] .