Corona del Mar's stretch of East Coast Highway, about 1.27 miles from Avocado Avenue to Hazel Drive, gets 2.9 million visitors a year who stay at least 30 minutes. About 40% of them are Newport Beach locals coming from less than five miles away, and they show up year-round, on weekdays about as much as on weekends. Even with all that traffic, the City's own September 2026 staff report calls outdoor dining along the corridor "present, but not widespread." The same report says most façades have "dull and/or inactive features."
The report traces that gap to parking rules, which decide which tenant may legally move into which building. On Thursday, Nov. 19, at 6 p.m., the Newport Beach Planning Commission holds a public hearing on a set of amendments meant to rewrite those rules for this corridor. The hearing is in the City Council Chamber at 100 Civic Center Drive.
One space per 250 square feet decides who can move in
Many of the buildings between Avocado and Hazel went up before modern parking requirements. The City counts most businesses there as nonconforming because they lack off-street parking. Under the current code, the owner of one of these buildings can't lease to a new tenant whose use needs more than one parking space per 250 square feet unless that tenant adds parking. The other options are a Director-level waiver, which covers up to 20% of the requirement if conditions such as bike racks or ride-share spaces are met, or a Conditional Use Permit.
Restaurants land on the wrong side of that line. Since Ordinance No. 2023-6, the citywide rate for a restaurant has been one space per 100 square feet of gross floor area. That is two and a half times the rate a nonconforming building can absorb. According to the staff report, the permit route "presents additional risk, cost, and timing considerations," and this "ultimately prevents property owners from leasing to eating and drinking establishments." Property and business owners told the City that parking minimums were the biggest barrier to reinvestment.
Bamboo Bistro at 2600 East Coast Highway shows what the current process takes. Its application, PA2026-0019, would combine the main dining room with the adjacent take-out area into a 4,257-square-foot full-service restaurant, grow the patio by 60 square feet to 175 square feet, and upgrade from a Type 41 beer-and-wine license to a Type 47 general license. Proposed hours end at 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Even with those early closing times, the expansion needed a Conditional Use Permit with a parking waiver. It went to the Planning Commission on Nov. 5 with a staff recommendation to approve.
The Daily Pilot's coverage of the November 2025 council study session reported that the study found "sufficient parking exists, but too many spaces are locked up in private lots." The same article said the study called for more food and drink places like Bandera.
The proposal aims at the 20-seat restaurant
City staff first considered lowering the parking rate for all restaurants to one space per 250 square feet. They dropped that idea because it conflicted with the 2023 ordinance. The proposal instead changes an existing category, "take-out service, fast-casual," which already uses the 1-per-250 rate and allows up to 20 seats. Today that category bans alcohol and requires extra review for hours past 11 p.m. The proposal would remove both limits. A small restaurant with wine and dinner service could then fit into a building with nonconforming parking without a waiver.
Larger restaurants would get a different option. Staff proposes reviving the in-lieu parking fee and collecting it monthly instead of annually. The money would go toward leasing private lots for public parking and supporting the trolley, not toward building a parking structure. The same route would let a restaurant of any size turn parking spaces on its own property into a dining patio. A property owner who closes or combines driveways, creating new curb parking on East Coast Highway, would get two spaces of credit for each one created.
| Use | Approval today | Approval under the proposal |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant closing by 11 p.m. | Minor Use Permit, Zoning Administrator | Minor Use Permit, Community Development Director, with public notice and appeal |
| Restaurant open after 11 p.m. | Conditional Use Permit, Planning Commission | Minor Use Permit, Zoning Administrator |
| Wine bar | No separate category | New use, Minor Use Permit, Zoning Administrator |
| Bar, lounge, nightclub | Conditional Use Permit, Planning Commission | Unchanged |
Some of the proposed amendments tighten the rules. Restrictions on certain uses would apply to every Corridor Commercial property, including the Newport Boulevard strip, while the new allowances would apply only in Corona del Mar. The Daily Pilot reported in 2025 that the uses staff wanted to prohibit in the future were car washes, auto repair and drive-throughs.
Why the patio limit is 9 p.m.
During outreach, residents raised concerns about whether outdoor dining fits next to the neighborhoods behind the highway. The proposal responds with a 9 p.m. daily closing time for patios at restaurants approved under the faster Director-level process. It also requires any live entertainment to be indoors and to end by 9 p.m. A restaurant that wants later hours would go through a Zoning Administrator public hearing, where residents can comment. The proposed wine bar category has its own limits. Staff floated caps on pour sizes, a required food menu and limits on which alcohol license types qualify.
Five Crowns shows why the limit matters. In April 2025, the City Council approved a temporary outdoor patio with live entertainment at the restaurant, 3801 East Coast Highway, after denying an appeal. The applicant voluntarily surrendered that approval on Dec. 2, 2025. As The Balboa Local reported, the Planning Commission confirmed on Sept. 17, 2026, that the approval has no force or effect.
One resident letter included in the September staff report pushes back on the premise of the study. It argues that "Corona Del Mar has a major highway running right through" it and "is NOT a main street." The letter also points to recent concessions on hours, alcohol and outdoor seating that it says were granted without added parking. According to California Record's AI-generated meeting summary, commissioners at the September study session were mostly receptive to the land-use ideas but resisted the in-lieu fee. Residents raised parking spillover into Irvine Terrace and the Flower Streets.
Housing above the shops, within a cap
The parking changes are the core of the proposal. The housing piece is smaller. It would allow homes above the ground floor only, with no added height. Buildings would stay at 32 feet with a flat roof or 37 feet with a sloped roof. Parking requirements per unit would be set by bedroom count, from 1.1 spaces for a studio to 2.0 for three bedrooms. Staff suggests a cap of 30 homes for the entire overlay. A separate incentive would raise the allowed floor area ratio from 0.75 to 1.0 for owners who combine two or more parcels.
Staff presented three growth scenarios, and each stays under the Charter Section 423 thresholds that would require a citywide vote. Scenario 1 allows 30 homes and no added commercial space. Scenario 2 allows no homes and 25,000 square feet of added commercial space. Scenario 3, which staff asked the Commission about, combines 30 homes with 18,700 square feet. Housing has been the most disputed part of the study. The Daily Pilot reported in November 2025 that Mayor Pro Tem Lauren Kleiman said a commitment to remove residential recommendations had been made at the last outreach meeting. Scenario 2 is the version without housing.
What changes before any vote
Some of the study's work isn't part of the zoning amendments, and part of it is already on the street. In June 2026, the City installed a digital sign at the top of the Main Beach ramp that shows real-time parking availability in the Corona del Mar State Beach lots. Installation of two dynamic message signs on East Coast Highway is scheduled to begin by the end of 2026. Staff also expects construction to start by year's end on a pedestrian-activated HAWK beacon at Orchid Avenue. The City tested a parking app, but it didn't meet the City's goals.
Some ideas were dropped. Paid meters had no support from the community or businesses. A shuttle taking employees to remote parking at Fashion Island or City Hall drew no interest from businesses. Valet parking on public streets will be handled in a later phase under a different part of the municipal code. The trolley appears throughout the plan, but the City's free Balboa Peninsula Trolley ran weekends from May 23 to Sept. 7 this year on its Peninsula route. Staff describes year-round trolley service in Corona del Mar as a complementary initiative. It is not running now.
Nov. 19 is a recommendation, not a final vote
The official notice covers properties on East Coast Highway from Avocado Avenue to Hazel Drive and on the western side of Newport Boulevard from Short Street to 32nd Street. At the hearing, the Planning Commission takes public comment and votes on a recommendation. The City Council makes the final decision. The Council already started the General Plan, Local Coastal Program and Municipal Code amendments on Feb. 10, 2026, so all three documents are open for change. The City's corridor study page has the meeting history and an interest list for updates. The full September staff report lists the 12 questions staff put to commissioners, including whether to waive all restaurant parking requirements through a parking management district.
Everything above describes proposals that haven't been adopted. Nothing here is legal advice. Property and business owners should check how any final rules apply to their parcels with the City and their own advisors.
Parking rules on a corridor like this one show up in the value of every building that faces it and the homes that sit behind it. If you own in the village, along East Coast Highway or in the Flower Streets and want to understand how the Nov. 19 outcome could affect your property, Michael Balliet offers a private, finance-grounded review. Request Private Client Access.
