CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. or soon thereafter as the matter shall be heard, a public hearing will be conducted in the Council Chambers at 100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach. The Planning Commission of the City of Newport Beach will consider the following application:
Sol Mexican Cocina – A request for a conditional use permit and coastal development permit to permanently retain a 641-square-foot platform deck with seating ("Detached Patio") that was previously permitted on a temporary basis for an existing restaurant. The request includes expanding the existing Type 47 (On-Sale General – Eating Place) Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) License to include the Detached Patio and reauthorizing the off-site parking located on the adjacent lots at Balboa Marina. The proposed hours of operation for the Detached Patio are between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m., daily. The existing restaurant and attached outdoor dining patio ("Attached Patio") have historically operated with late hours (after 11 p.m.) and live entertainment, which would remain unchanged and continue as part of the project. The hours of operation for the interior of the restaurant and Attached Patio are between 10 a.m. and 12 a.m., daily. No live entertainment would be allowed within the Attached or Detached Patios and dancing would be prohibited. If approved, this Conditional Use Permit and Coastal Development Permit would supersede Use Permit Nos. UP621 and UP651 and Accessory Outdoor Dining Permit Nos. OD49 and OD49A. An Operator License is required pursuant to Chapter 5.25 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code (NBMC) to allow the service of alcohol in conjunction with live entertainment and late hours.
The project is categorically exempt under Section 15301 under Class 1 (Existing Facilities) and Section 15303 under Class 3 (New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures) of the State CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) Guidelines.
All interested parties may appear and present testimony regarding this application. If you challenge this project in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you raised at the public hearing or in written correspondence delivered to the City or before the public hearing. The application may be continued to a specific future meeting date; if such an action occurs, additional public notice of the continuance will not be provided. Administrative procedures for appeals are provided in Chapters 20.64 (Appeals) and 21.64 (Appeals and Calls for Review) of the NBMC. A fee is required to appeal any final action on a coastal development permit to the City Council. The project site is located within the appeal area of the coastal zone; therefore, final action by the City may be appealed to the California Coastal Commission.
The agenda, staff report, and corresponding documents will be available by end of business day on the Friday preceding the public hearing and may be reviewed at the Community Development Department Permit Center (Bay C-1st Floor), at 100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660 or the City of Newport Beach website at www.newportbeachca.gov/planningcommission. Individuals not able to attend the meeting may contact the Planning Division or access the City's website after the meeting to review the action on this application. All mail or written communications (including email) from the public, residents, or applicants regarding an agenda item must be submitted by 5 p.m. on the business day immediately before the meeting. This allows time for the Planning Commission to adequately consider the submitted correspondence.
For questions regarding this public hearing item please contact Liz Westmoreland, AICP, Principal Planner, at 949-644-3234 or lwestmoreland@newportbeachca.gov, at 100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660.
NOTICE OF POLICE DEPARTMENT DECISION
NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that pending approval of the Conditional Use Permit mentioned above, an operator license application is scheduled for review by the Chief of Police of the City of Newport Beach on or after Monday, June 01, 2026. The Chief of Police of the City of Newport Beach will consider the following application:
Sol Mexican Cocina – An operator license to allow the operator of Sol Mexican Cocina to operate an eating and drinking establishment with late hours, a Type 47 ABC License, and live entertainment, as described in more detail above.
All interested parties may submit written comments regarding the requested operator license to Civilian Investigator, Wendy Joe, at 870 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, California, 92660. Comments will be accepted until Monday, June 01, 2026. If you challenge this project in court, you may be limited to raising only the issues you or someone else raised in written correspondence delivered to the City, on, or before, the date of the decision. The draft action letter and project file may be reviewed at the Community Development Department Permit Center (Bay C-1st Floor), at 100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660. For questions regarding details of the operator license please contact Civilian Investigator, Wendy Joe, Special Investigations Unit at 949-644-3705 or wjoe@nbpd.org.
Project File No.: Activities:
PA2025-0199 Conditional Use Permit, Coastal
Development Permit, Operator License
Zone: General Plan:
Recreational and Marine Recreational and Marine Commercial -
Commercial – (0.0 – 0.30 FAR) (CM-A) (CM)
Coastal Land Use Plan: Filing Date:
Recreational and Marine Commercial October 7, 2025
– (0.0 – 0.30 FAR) (CM-A)
Location: Applicant:
251 East Coast Highway (restaurant) Kiesker & Wiggle Architects, Inc.
and offsite parking at 151 and 201
East Coast Highway and
APNs 050-451-03 and 050-451-57
Jonathan Langford, Secretary, Planning Commission, City of Newport Beach