The expansion of the proposed Snug Harbor Surf Park has been halted after city officials rescinded a key land-use amendment, though developers still have a path forward for a scaled-down version of the project.
Responding to a referendum to save the Newport Beach Golf Course, the City Council voted 6-0, one recused, to cancel an earlier agreement and limit the size of Back Bay Barrels LLC’s proposed surf park project.
The plan would have nearly tripled the project’s development area on the privately owned portion of the golf course from 20,000 to 60,000 square feet. The county of Orange owns the back nine of the 18-hole golf course. Meanwhile, the other side is owned privately.
“We heard from the voters. We rescinded the agreement,” Newport Beach Councilman Joe Stapleton told the Business Journal.
Snug Harbor Surf Park, founded by Adam Cleary, a longtime Newport Beach resident and senior vice president at a title company, had planned to turn three holes, about 15 acres, of the 18-hole golf course into artificial surfing lagoons, wave pools, a three-story clubhouse, a surf academy, shops, athlete accommodations and restaurants.
Company officials said they wanted to increase the project’s size for the surfing operations, including creating areas to store surfboards, wetsuits and golf carts.
Although controlled under a different entity, the rest of the golf course—15 holes in the northern and southern sections—would remain operational.
A citizens’ group called Save Newport Beach Golf Course collected over 6,100 signatures to challenge the project and let voters make the final decision.
Several residents said the Newport Beach Golf Course is among the most affordable in the county and many local high school teams use it for practice and tournaments.
Councilmembers said they chose to rescind the approvals rather than spend up to $143,000 to put the measure on a special election, the June statewide primary, or the November general election.
According to the city staff report, canceling the earlier agreement cost the city nothing.
Back Bay Barrels did not return a Business Journal’s request for comment.
Newport Beach senior planners also did not respond to a request for comments from the Business Journal.
‘Surf-Anchored’ Asset Class
Despite the setback in Newport Beach, the project is part of a wave in “surf-anchored” commercial real estate developments across California.
According to CoStar, nearly two dozen surf parks are open or under construction across the country.
Investors say these parks allow visitors and surfers of all skill levels to ride the tube in a safe, controlled setting, avoiding issues such as no waves, big waves, bad weather or crowded beaches.
In Southern California, tech investor Vinny Smith, founder of Toba Capital in Newport Beach, is leading a $500 million effort to build four inland surf parks in Southern California and Las Vegas.
Smith’s projects include a $175 million facility in El Segundo near SoFi Stadium and a $250 million, 45-acre project in Oceanside.
These projects followed the opening of the $100 million Palm Springs Surf Club, which turned an old water park into a destination that now attracts 150,000 visitors each year.
Future Plans
Although Back Bay Barrels’ expansion of Snug Harbor is on hold, developers could still move forward with the project.
Councilmember Erik Weigand said a project could still be built for outdoor recreation if it stays within the original 20,000-square-foot limit.
It is unclear whether Back Bay Barrels will proceed with their plans.
The company still has approval to redevelop 20,000 square feet of the golf course, and the golf course lease runs until 2027.
Correction:
A caption incorrectly gave the wrong company title for Dwight Manley in a Feb. 2 article on his purchase of the Beckman Coulter campus in Brea. He is the owner of Dwight Manley Inc., which is overseeing the $140 million transaction. The Business Journal regrets the error.
