{"id":1547,"date":"2026-05-07T13:03:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T13:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=1547"},"modified":"2026-05-07T13:03:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T13:03:33","slug":"housing-zoning-approved-for-part-of-newport-beach-golf-course-opponents-still-fighting-surf-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=1547","title":{"rendered":"Housing zoning approved for part of Newport Beach Golf Course, opponents still fighting surf park"},"content":{"rendered":"

The vast acreage of the Newport Beach Golf Course has the city eyeing it for help meeting housing needs, a developer interested in building a surf park and golfers wanting to preserve an affordable option for their recreation.<\/p>

Read more Newport Harbor swimmer Connor Ohl breaks 20 seconds again in 50 freestyle<\/a><\/p>\n

The wave pool proposal has golf enthusiasts putting up a fight for the land they\u2019ve played on for decades, filing a lawsuit against the city last week to stop even a small-scale project on a portion of the property from moving forward. Now, there\u2019s another battle brewing following recent land use changes that would allow for housing on another portion of the Newport Beach Golf Course.<\/p>\n

In April, the California Coastal Commission approved the land use amendment that would allow housing to be built on the southern parcel of the property \u2014 along with other areas within the city \u2014 to help add nearly 4,845 units to Newport Beach\u2019s housing inventory.<\/p>\n

While there are no specific proposals yet, the parcel cleared for housing is where holes 3 through 8 are played.<\/p>\n

Don Schmitz, president of Schmitz & Associates and a land-use consultant for Newport Beach, gave a presentation to the Coastal Commission at its most recent April meeting, speaking about the state\u2019s mandate that Newport Beach have the zoning in place that would allow developers to build at least 4,845 new housing units this decade to help meet future needs in the state. The city appealed that house allocation when it was handed out, but was denied and is now creating the zoning it would require.<\/p>\n

The section of the golf course south of Mesa Drive could be developed with 693 units, he said.<\/p>\n

Jim Auster, a golfer who lives in the neighborhood nearby, spoke against the housing overlay changes as a representative of Save Newport Beach Golf Course, the same group that rallied against the proposal for the wave pool on an adjacent portion of the golf course.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been fighting to save the Newport Beach Golf Course for five years, since the owners put the property on the housing list,\u201d he said. \u201cSo far, we have been successful in beating out four different development proposals by the owners to kill the golf course.\u201d<\/p>

\n<\/div>\n

The golf course is the only safe and appropriate use of the land because it sits directly under the airport path, Auster\u00a0argued.<\/p>\n