Newport Beach residents are now suing the city over a push to build a new surf park that would split the private Newport Beach Beach Golf Course in half, with residents arguing the city officials’ continued support of the project contradicts the will of the people. 

Benny Hallock, the chairman of Save Newport Beach Golf Course’s Political Action Committee, said the council is just trying to “shoe-horn” the project in where open space and the golf should be.  

“When given the chance to listen to the community this city council has a history of fumbling the ball,” Hallock wrote in a statement last week. 

Last year, council members approved plans from a developer to put the surf park in the middle of the golf course, which would’ve cut the course from 18 to 15 holes, removed the putting green, pro shop, restaurant and driving range and left the course split in half by the new project. 

[Read: Newport Beach Approves Gutting Golf Course, Making Way for New Surf Park]

Save Newport Beach Golf Course, a group of volunteers looking to save the space, gathered nearly 10,000 signatures in under a month last November to force city council members to abandon the general plan amendments for the project or put the issue before voters. 

Council members instead reversed their earlier vote, pledging to not move forward with that shift. 

[Read: Newport Beach Reverses Course on Contentious Surf Park Proposal]

In a statement from city spokesperson Georgia Rios, city leaders defended the proposal, noting they were not moving forward on the general plan amendment voters came out against. 

“The City of Newport Beach’s position is that both the referendum and the City Council’s response were narrowly focused,” Rios wrote. “The referendum only contested the General Plan Amendment (GPA), and the City Council only rescinded that specific amendment.” 

But the lawsuit alleges City Manager Seimone Jurjis is still trying to move forward with the project. 

“Under the City’s reading, despite the Council’s rescission and the public campaign, a developer could still demolish the driving range, the restaurant, and three holes of the Golf Course for a surf park project before the Conditional Use Permit expires in October 2027,” Save Newport Beach Golf Course’s lawyers wrote in their complaint. “The Golf Course the community fought to save would still be gone.” 

In the group’s lawsuit against the city, they argue that without the general plan amendment the project can’t properly move forward and are asking for a judge to immediately block the development of the surf park or any demolition to the golf course. 

Rios said the voter referendum doesn’t apply to the current process.

“Other approvals were outside the scope of the referendum and were not revoked,” she continued. “Reducing the square footage simply adjusts the project’s overall scale and does not alter the approved use’s fundamental nature,” Rios said. 

“A smaller project within the existing development limits would not create additional impacts beyond those already considered and might even lessen some impacts.”

Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.