Published November 8, 2026
NEWPORT BEACH | CITY HALL WATCH | NOVEMBER 8, 2026
For two years, the Corona del Mar corridor plan has been about one thing: turning East Coast Highway into more of a walkable main street. So it’s a little surprising to see the Peninsula’s Newport Boulevard in the hearing notice.
On Thursday, Nov. 19, at 6 p.m., the Planning Commission holds a public hearing on the package. It includes:
- a new CdM overlay district
- limited homes over shops
- easier restaurant permits and lower restaurant parking requirements
- an in-lieu parking fee
- incentives to combine small lots
All of that is for CdM only.
Here’s the Peninsula part. The plan also bans some uses across the whole “Commercial Corridor” zone. That zone exists in just two places in town: CdM, and the west side of Newport Boulevard from Short Street to 32nd Street.
A Sept. 17 staff report says nine properties on Newport Boulevard would be affected. These uses would go from allowed to prohibited:
- drive-throughs
- car washes and detailing
- vehicle and equipment rentals
- vehicle sales offices
- limited auto repair
- animal boarding and kennels
Staff’s reasoning is that those lots also sit on a commercial strip next to a walkable village.
Translation: CdM gets the perks and the new rules. Newport Boulevard just gets the new rules.
Staff wrote that some existing businesses would become “nonconforming.” That’s city-speak for a business that was legal when it opened but wouldn’t be allowed under the new rules. What that means for any specific shop on the Boulevard is exactly what to ask before the vote.
Nothing has been adopted. The commission makes a recommendation, the City Council decides later, and pieces inside the coastal zone also go to the Coastal Commission.
The staff report posts by Friday, Nov. 13. Written comments are due by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18. Questions go to Principal Planner Joselyn Perez at 949-644-3312.
Sources
- Planning Commission Notice of Public Hearing, PA2024-0002 (File 26-3085), Nov. 19, 2026
- Planning Commission Study Session Staff Report, Corona del Mar Commercial Corridor Study, Sept. 17, 2026 (pp. 8–12, 20)
- City of Newport Beach: Corona del Mar Commercial Corridor Study
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