AutoNation ends plan for Porsche dealership on Mariners’ Mile
An AutoNation Porsche dealership proposed for Mariners’ Mile has been scrapped after it failed to gain traction with Newport Beach planners.
City Manager Dave Kiff sent an email to neighborhood residents Wednesday announcing that AutoNation withdrew its application for the project that afternoon. Kiff said the company did not offer a reason for the withdrawal.
An AutoNation representative could not immediately be reached for comment.
The City Council next week had been expected to consider the 35-foot-tall facility, which was proposed to be built between 320 and 600 W. Coast Hwy. It would have included a showroom, an outdoor vehicle display, offices, a service department and a rooftop parking structure.
The city Planning Commission denied the proposal Oct. 6. AutoNation indicated after that meeting that it planned to appeal to the City Council.
Planning commissioners first considered the plan Aug. 18 but postponed their vote to give AutoNation time to consider changing the building’s exterior design, which some commissioners considered too dark and out of place for the area.
Several Bayshores and Kings Road residents have opposed the project for months, raising concerns about the potential for increased noise, light, air pollution and traffic along West Coast Highway.
In response, AutoNation replaced the planned black siding with medium gray, added an auto lift lobby to screen a retaining wall from neighbors and added a larger rooftop cover in an effort to address concerns about noise and exhaust floating to nearby homes.
But the design changes didn’t sway most commissioners, who said they would be more in favor of the development if it were solely a sales facility and did not perform repairs.
Some commissioners pointed to ongoing code enforcement issues at AutoNation’s current Porsche, Audi and Bentley dealership at 445 E. Coast Hwy., just past Mariners’ Mile, as another reason for denying the proposal. The city has fined AutoNation several times over the years for allowing its car carriers to unload merchandise off the property and employees to park in adjacent neighborhoods, according to a city staff report.
Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
