Council hearing on Woody’s Wharf permit changes postponed

A public hearing to consider potential changes to Woody’s Wharf’s use permit, originally scheduled for Tuesday night’s Newport Beach City Council meeting, has been postponed.

City staff sent out a notification Tuesday morning saying that since not all of the seven council members would be at the meeting, the issue will be considered Oct. 13.

At that meeting, the council is expected to consider allowing the Balboa Peninsula restaurant to open a half-hour earlier each day and enable patrons to use the adjacent boat dock ramp to drink, eat and smoke until 8 p.m.

Also among the suggested changes: On Thursday nights and up to 12 additional nights per year, dancing would be allowed inside the restaurant, and the closing time of the outdoor dining area would be extended from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Woody’s currently is allowed to have dancing inside on Fridays and Saturdays and use the patio until 2 a.m. on those nights. The council’s decision on the permit would not affect that.

Woody’s also would be able to remove the outdoor patio covering that the city required to help control noise from people congregating on the water side of the restaurant.

If the proposed changes are approved, they could bring an end to a roughly two-year legal dispute between the city and Woody’s Wharf stemming from the council overturning the Planning Commission’s decision in 2013 to allow dancing and extend the restaurant’s operating hours.