Newport Beach's Water Quality/Coastal Tidelands Committee votes Thursday, Oct. 1, on the Harbor & Beaches Master Plan.

Staff recommends the nine-member committee approve the plan, according to the meeting agenda. An alternate recommendation would delay approval to the November meeting. The city has not publicly released a summary of the plan's specific policies.

The committee is chaired by Councilmember Michelle Barto, with Councilmember Joe Stapleton serving as vice chair. Chris Miller, an administrative manager in the Public Works Department, will present the plan.

The vote comes months after the City Council adopted the Newport Beach 2050 General Plan on June 23, which includes a Harbor, Bay, and Beaches Element governing coastal management policy.

Bay health risks on the agenda

A second action item brings James Fortuna of Orange County Public Works to present new approaches for assessing human health risk in Newport Bay. The agenda calls for committee discussion only, with no vote scheduled.

The presentation follows recent water-quality concerns. The Newport Harbor Foundation wrote on X on Sept. 24 that bacteria levels at Lido Isle Yacht Club Beach exceeded state health standards, citing sampling by Orange County Health on Sept. 23.

Dredging, sand and invasive algae

Committee members will also hear announcements on several coastal projects, including ocean beach sand renourishment plans, the presence of Caulerpa (an invasive algae) in Newport Harbor, and the status of the Lower Bay Dredging project.

The dredging project, led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, began in December 2025 and is removing roughly 900,000 cubic yards of sediment. The city expects it to wrap up in fall 2026, making it the last comprehensive dredge planned for the harbor, according to a city news release.

"This is a milestone project for Newport Beach," Stapleton said at a Nov. 4, 2025, celebration at Marina Park when he was serving as mayor. "It represents years of planning, collaboration and perseverance to protect the future of our harbor …"

Sand replenishment is also on the committee's plate. The Los Angeles Times reported in August that hurricane-driven swells stripped sand from the Wedge, exposing decades-old infrastructure. Newport Beach spokesperson Georgia Rios said in August the city's long-range approach focuses on sand replenishment to maintain the beach and address ongoing erosion.

The city's fiscal year 2026-27 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) allocates about $25.5 million to parks, harbors and beaches projects. A Surfside Sunset Ocean Beach sand nourishment project is planned for fiscal year 2027-28.

How to attend

The meeting begins at 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, in the Crystal Cove Room (Bay 2D) at City Hall. Residents may speak for up to five minutes on agenda items and three minutes on non-agenda topics within the committee's jurisdiction. The next scheduled meeting is Thursday, Nov. 5.