Newport Beach officials are reversing course on a previous approval to gut the local golf course and replace it with a surf park after residents gathered enough verified signatures to challenge the decision at the ballot box.

City council members in Newport Beach voted in October to approve a project proposal for a surf park at the privately operated Newport Beach Golf Course. That project was expected to cut the golf course in half to create a wave pool, replacing three of the course’s 18 holes, a putting green, pro shop, restaurant and driving range.

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

While council members said they didn’t want to stand in the way of a business looking to redevelop private property, after the council’s vote in October, residents began collecting signatures challenging the approval.

Locals gathered enough signatures to officially challenge the decision and place the question on an upcoming ballot, but the process didn’t end up getting that far.

[Read: Could Newport Beach Voters Decide the Future of a Golf Course?]

Instead of placing the question on a future ballot, council members instead rescinded their previous vote for the surf park on Tuesday night, effectively removing their original approval for what’s known as a general plan amendment.

Council members all agreed to rescind the approval, except for Councilmember Noah Blom, who recused himself from the discussion to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest because of a business partner who has financial interest in the proposed project.

Councilmember Erik Weigand said it’s a simple decision to rescind after seeing the resident signatures that were verified through the Orange County Registrar of Voters.

He said the outcome would be the same if the council were to rescind or place the question on a future ballot.

“I would say [let’s] just rescind because signatures were collected, there’s no difference in our decision, and cost-savings to the city,” he said. “It’s a simple decision I think tonight.”

The council’s vote doesn’t necessarily end the surf park project but reduces the proposed size.

City Manager Seimone Jurjis explained that rescinding the general plan amendment does not nix the surf project because that specific part of the approval focused only on square footage.

He explained that the property owners already have the OK to redevelop a 20,000 square foot area and had previously asked the council to redevelop an additional 40,000 square feet.

The council’s vote to rescind removes approval for the property owners to also redevelop that additional 40,000-square-foot area — cutting the project size back down to 20,000 square feet, for now.

Other parts of the project, like a conditional use permit and environmental review, were not challenged and are still valid, Jurjis said.

Councilmember Sara J. Weber agreed that rescinding was the best idea but also said it’s unfortunate to take a step backward on what she called a “once-in-a-lifetime investment” for the city.

“My job as a council member is not to tell an applicant what I want them to do with their private property,” she said. “They have a right to pursue a project, and our job is to evaluate it fairly.”

“Nonetheless, here we are, the community has spoken, so I would absolutely support rescinding the general plan amendment, and I do believe it’s probably the most responsible way to respect the referendum process,” Weber continued. “I certainly don’t want to spend any money on an election, and I’m going to hope this reduces any further division within the community.”

Rescinding the general plan amendment doesn’t cost the city anything.

If council members decided to place the question on a general election ballot in November, that would have cost about $10,000, according to city staff.

Staff also estimated that a special election over the summer would have cost more than $100,000.

Angelina Hicks is the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.