Hello Back Bay Buccaneers, happy Monday.

May Gray may have arrived early in the chillier than expected final weekend of April. Despite the rain, hopes are high for a bright and breezy week ahead as we bound into May and summer approaches (or whatever season June wants to be this year).

To our new readers—welcome! The Back Bay Buzz delivers just the right amount of news and events for locals in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. No crime, no politics, no spam—just the good stuff. We scan newspapers, blogs, social media, business journals, and Google alerts so you don’t have to.

In today’s Buzz:

— Jon Dougher, Publisher, Back Bay Buzz

Following the community backed referendum in January, the NB Surf Park’s already shaky future is now confounded with additional proposals for housing development. The January referendum, while limiting the scope of the surf park project, did not actually kill the development, despite reports that the “surf park is dead” by locals. At the Jan 27th City Council meeting, Council member Erik Weigand asked Newport Beach City Manager Simone Jurjis if rescinding the original approval meant the surf park plan was “over”. Jurjis replied “The general plan amendment was for square footage, It does not kill the surf project.” At the recent California Coastal Commission meeting on April 17th, the commission approved amendments [paywall] to Newport Beach’s coastal zone housing plans that would open certain parcels of the Newport Beach Golf Course (parcels adjacent to the proposed Surf Park) to multi-family housing. Proposed buffer zones along the length of the property to protect environmentally sensitive habitats would “significantly [reduce] the developable area of this critical site” city consultant Don Schmitz said of the property. While these approvals open the door for housing development proposals, it does not definitively end the original plan for the Surf Park or guarantee that housing will be built at all. We have asked the NB Surf Park for comment on the continued viability of the project, we will keep you appraised of any updates.

🌊 Water temp = 65º
Suit Rec: Spring suit/Full suit 3/2

Thanks! Please ignore any typos, our editor has gone down a mahjong rabbit hole.

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