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Construction debris concerns peninsula residents

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Residents who live on the harbor side of the Balboa Peninsula are expressing concerns about debris from an ongoing construction project on nearby Bay Island.

They say the accumulation has jammed the narrow channel between the peninsula and the exclusive residential enclave and could pose a risk.

The project to replace the crumbling concrete and rusted sheet metal sea wall along the channel beach has been in the planning stages for years. Demolition of the old wall and new construction began in February.

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Setting aside the months-long inconvenience — including loud, earth-shaking demolition requiring a floating barge with a 30-foot crane and a cement mixer clogging the channel — peninsula residents and boaters are most concerned about the material that they say litters the channel and beaches on both sides.

Small, boulder-sized chunks of eroding concrete and sharp slices of rusted sheet metal are visible along the island side beach during low tides, they say. Most of the debris follows the path of the old sea wall.

The new wall is 8 to 10 feet nearer the island and close to completion.

“My ongoing concerns are safety for children and safety for boat passageways,” said Michael Glenn, a neighborhood resident who briefly entered the Newport Beach City Council race this summer.

“It mostly concerns the narrowing of the waterway,” Glenn added. “It’s become more shallow and more narrow, which I think poses a danger to boats. It’s also covering up some debris that was left behind, which I believe has got the real potential to harm children who swim here locally at what we call Baby Beach.”

A representative for the contractor, the John S. Meek Co. of Gardena, said he was contractually obligated to direct all media inquiries to the Bay Island Homeowners Assn. Repeated attempts by the Daily Pilot to reach the organization were unsuccessful.

Resident Mike Kuhar said the debris has only recently been discovered with a change in tides.

“We had a couple unusual low tides last week, you know your moon phase and all that, so some people saw some stuff they hadn’t seen,” said Kuhar, whose two-story home at the end of Montero Street sits near the channel.

A neighbor took photos and video at low tide showing construction debris littering the channel. One video shows workers using a backhoe to cover the island-side bank with dirt and sand.

“As I understand it, they were filling in the space between the old wall and the new structure with sediment,” said Newport Beach Harbor Resources Manager Chris Miller. “I haven’t been down to see it, so I can’t really comment.”

Miller said he’s received emails from concerned residents and is looking into the situation.

He said he hasn’t seen any obvious debris in the channel but hasn’t looked at lower tides.

“It’s definitely concerning,” said Kuhar, who has a 42-foot pleasure boat docked on the channel. “I mean, if they’re going to clean it all up, great. Super.”

But neighbors said the lack of a clear resolution, including uncertainty about cleanup and possible re-dredging of the channel, has them wondering about the residual effects of the project.

“They just dredged ... a few years ago,” said Will Robbins, who keeps his 38-foot sport fishing boat docked in the waterway. “So the taxpayers spent all this money, and now this construction company has come through here and added all this sand through this channel.”

Echoed Kuhar: “As far as maneuvering our boats in and out, we used to be able to spin them in a circle out here at certain tides, whereas I don’t think we can do that now.”

Mary Ann Miller, whose home is closest to the Bay Island bridge at the end of Island Avenue, said she has documented property damage and kept records of the project in the form of paperwork, pictures and news clippings.

“It destroyed my life. For nine months. I’m telling you the truth. Pathetic,” said Miller, of the regular rumbling of heavy equipment that she said shook her house and caused significant damage to her concrete boat dock.

“I’m not going to sue anybody, but I want them to fix everything that’s gone wrong,” she said, adding that communication with the project superintendent has been positive.

Miller described the workers as “gentlemen,” adding she would “recommend them to anybody.”

Adding to concerns is the Nov. 18 determination by the Orange County Health Department’s Ocean Water Protection Program that bacteria levels in the water flowing south from the channel did not meet safe swimming standards.

The health department said there is no clear source of the bacteria, citing possible runoff, bird activity or sewage leaks.

“There’s only a few spots in Newport Beach that are undergoing construction in the waterways,” Glenn said, “and the one that I know about that has certainly left debris behind is the one, the only one currently that’s got some warnings with it. So it’s correlative. Whether or not it’s causative I don’t know.”

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