A plan to build 27 townhouses on a piece of vacant land at the southeast corner of MacArthur Boulevard and Bonita Canyon Drive in Newport Beach overcame an appeal by local residents and is expected to move forward as proposed.
The Newport Beach City Council denied a challenge by a group called Save Our Sports Park, an organization that sought to prevent the proposed residential development from being built next to Bonita Canyon Sports Park.
The proposed project would be built on land owned by Pacific Bell Telephone Co.
Ford Road Ventures LLC is the developer, which is backed by Newport Beach real estate executives Peter Zak and Kory Kramer. Zak is a partner at Newport Beach-based Lyon Living and Kramer is an executive with Eagle Four Partners, also in Newport Beach. Neither company is involved with the project.
“The Ford Road Townhomes is a 27-unit luxury for-sale community that received unanimous approval from both the Newport Beach Planning Commission and City Council,” Kramer told the Business Journal.
“Designed to align seamlessly with the city’s General Plan and Housing Element, the project delivers much needed high-quality housing for young families and professionals who aspire to enjoy the Newport Beach lifestyle.”
The project was initially approved in July. Save Our Sports Park opposed the project due to concerns about parking, traffic and safety, appealing the project in August.
The organization added that the proposed project does not complement community uses.
New State Mandates
Mayor Joe Stapleton acknowledged the concerns brought up on appeal but also said the council was limited in what it could do, considering California’s new housing mandates requiring cities to add more residential units in the next few years.
“The reality is the fight is with Sacramento; it’s not with us,” Stapleton said. “We are doing what we can to protect quality of life for all of us in the city.”
Legislators in Sacramento passed a series of laws making it easier for developers to build more housing units in every California city, particularly low-income units.
One of those laws—called the builder’s remedy—went into effect this year, giving developers the green light to build a project and potentially bypass the City Council process.
Newport Beach adopted its version of the state-mandated housing program in 2022.
Stapleton said the developer brought its proposal to the council and presented a project that fits within the parameters of what Newport Beach is trying to accomplish, with respect to the state’s housing mandates.
Newport Beach city staff told councilmembers the proposed project was compatible with the surrounding neighborhoods.
“The project site is within the vicinity of other residential communities, including the Newport Bluffs apartment community approximately 185 feet to the north across Bonita Canyon Drive and the Harbor View community, approximately 230 feet to the south across Ford Road,” according to a city staff report.
“The Newport Bluffs apartment community is developed with three-story structures, built to a height of approximately 32 feet, and has a maximum limit of 50 feet,” city staff continued. “The Harbor View community consists of single-story to two-story residences with a maximum allowed height of 32 feet.”
Ford Road Townhomes
The 27-unit townhouse project, known as Ford Road Townhomes, would bring new housing to MacArthur Boulevard and Bonita Canyon Drive. The townhouses would be built adjacent to the Bonita Canyon Sports Park and near the Harbor View neighborhood, an area mostly comprised of single-family residences.
Newport Beach City Council approved the project, which calls for two-, three- and four-bedroom units, ranging from 1,196 to 2,989 square feet, each.
The units would be built in four detached buildings, each one four stories tall and reaching a height of nearly 48 feet. Parking would include private garages, 10 uncovered spaces and two delivery spots.
A neighboring AT&T facility would also be upgraded as part of the project.
