China Cove road, parking and landscaping project stalls after neighbors object

There’s a sidewalk on Ocean Boulevard that ends awkwardly at Dahlia Avenue, and there’s a nearby spot that could be a landscaped, improved vista point.

The wide roadway near Carnation Avenue could be developed to add a dozen more parking spaces, and the entire area needs repaving.

But a Newport Beach project, which already has $2.2 million in funding, is on permanent hold because neighbors have opposed the plans.

One China Cove resident started a petition and went door-to-door seeking signatures, and about 60 people, including City Councilman Scott Peotter, attended a meeting late last month to discuss the project with city staff.

No one at the meeting supported the plan, other than the repaving portion.

One problem, residents have said, is that extending the dead-end sidewalk would deposit pedestrians right at the top of the sloping roadway out of China Cove.

Others say that adding the 10 to 12 new parking spaces in the middle of Ocean Boulevard would mean residents were overlooking an ugly parking lot, and that the wide street is often used to stage construction vehicles for workers in China Cove, which has narrow streets with limited parking.

The vista, residents said, could create more trash and noise.

City staff first introduced the plans to the Corona del Mar Residents Assn. in November. At the time, one neighbor immediately noted issues with narrowing the roadway in order to add landscaping and parking.

Assistant City Engineer Mike Sinacori, who attended the neighborhood meeting, said the original ideas to improve the area came from former City Councilwoman Nancy Gardner.

At this point, he said, any work would be at least a year away. Meanwhile, the plans seem to have stalled.

“Right now, nothing is the next step,” he said.