Take Action: The Appeal Will Be Heard November 17
We now have a confirmed date for the appeal to be heard by the full Newport Beach City Council: Tuesday, November 17.
City Council Meeting Details:
Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2026
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: Newport Beach City Council Chambers
Address: 100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660
On June 18, the Newport Beach Planning Commission voted 4–2 to approve the proposed residential development at 1501 E. 16th Street, directly adjacent to the Environmental Nature Center and ENC Nature Preschool.
That decision was appealed, giving the City Council an opportunity to reconsider the project and its impacts on the ENC, our Nature Preschool, our restored habitat, and the thousands of children and families who visit our campus each year.
We continue to have serious concerns about the scale and proximity of the 1501 E. 16th Street development and its long-term impacts on the Environmental Nature Center and ENC Nature Preschool. We believe significant changes are necessary to protect the natural setting, privacy, open sky, habitat, educational experiences, and sense of place that generations of children and families have found here.
We Need Your Help Again
The tremendous response from our community made a difference during the Planning Commission process. Hundreds of people wrote letters, attended the hearing, spoke on behalf of the ENC, and filled the Council Chambers. Your voices were heard, and commissioners discussed many of the concerns raised by the ENC and our supporters.
Now we have another opportunity to make those voices heard.
Please plan to join us at the Newport Beach City Council meeting on Tuesday, November 17.
A strong turnout will demonstrate how deeply this community values the ENC and how important it is that any development next to this extraordinary place respects and protects what has been built here over more than 50 years.
We will share additional information about the meeting, including the hearing time, public comment opportunities, and other ways to participate, as those details become available.
For more than 50 years, the ENC has provided a place where children discover nature, wildlife finds refuge, and people develop a lifelong appreciation for the natural world. We remain committed to protecting that legacy.
Please stay involved, share this page with others who care about the ENC, and join us on November 17.
The ENC’s Primary Concerns
The ENC’s concerns fall into three primary categories:
- Safety, security, privacy, and wellbeing of the children, families, students, and visitors who use our campus, including preserving the ENC as a peaceful natural refuge where people can step away from the surrounding urban environment and meaningfully connect with nature.
- Protection of the environmental integrity of our site, restored habitat, and educational mission.
- Compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood and broader community, including impacts to local traffic, pedestrian safety, quality of life, and the long-term wellbeing of one of Newport Beach’s longest-standing educational and environmental institutions.
The ENC’s Key Concerns Regarding the Proposed Development
Building Height & Massing
The proposed three-story buildings, reaching up to 43.4 feet in height, would significantly alter the ENC’s natural setting. Buildings are proposed along the length of the ENC property line, with residences overlooking areas used daily for environmental education, camps, community programs, and ENC Nature Preschool.
The ENC has raised concerns about the loss of open sky, increased shading of restored habitat and native plant communities, and the visual impact of three-story residences immediately adjacent to a campus intentionally designed to provide an immersive experience in nature. Elevated balconies and rooftop areas would also overlook teaching spaces, including the Nature Playscape where preschool students spend much of their day outdoors.
The ENC requested that buildings adjacent to our campus be limited to two stories and that second-story balconies and rooftop decks along the ENC property line be eliminated. We also requested story poles so the community and decision-makers could better understand the scale and visual impact of the proposed development. These requests were not incorporated into the project.
When the Planning Commission approved the project by a 4–2 vote on June 18, it added conditions intended to reduce some of these impacts, including requiring larger specimen trees along the ENC boundary and reducing the height of rooftop access structures. While we appreciate the Commission’s efforts to address concerns raised by the ENC and our community, these changes do not address the fundamental scale and proximity of the three-story development.
The ENC continues to believe that significant changes are necessary to protect the open sky, habitat, privacy, educational experience, and natural character that have defined our campus for more than 50 years.
Setbacks & Buffering
The ENC requested a 30-foot setback along the property line to provide meaningful vegetation buffers, habitat protection, and separation from valuable educational spaces, but current plans include setbacks as small as 10.5 feet, with portions of paving and pathway areas extending into the buffer zone. The ENC remains concerned that setbacks of this size do not provide sufficient space for an effective landscape or ecological buffer between the development and ENC property.
Privacy & Noise
The ENC remains concerned about elevated outdoor areas such as balconies, rooftop decks, and patios overlooking preschool and educational spaces, creating privacy, noise, and line-of-sight impacts directly adjacent to areas used by children, students, and visitors seeking a quiet and immersive natural environment.
Traffic & Parking
The proposed development is expected to increase traffic along 16th Street near local schools and the ENC, raising concerns regarding pedestrian safety, congestion, construction traffic, and overflow parking due to the limited number of visitor parking spaces proposed.
Construction Impacts
With construction projected to last approximately 18–24 months, the ENC is concerned about prolonged noise, dust, air quality impacts, and operational disruption to camps, field trips, preschool programs, outdoor educational activities, and public visitation occurring throughout the campus.
Environmental Concerns
The proposed development borders restored native habitat that has taken decades to establish, raising concerns regarding shading, lighting, root intrusion, wildlife disturbance, and long-term impacts to sensitive ecological and educational areas.
Long-Term Operational & Financial Impacts
The ENC anticipates that construction impacts and long-term adjacency impacts could significantly reduce program participation, camps, facility rentals, event attendance, and preschool enrollment during and after construction. Because these programs directly fund operations, staffing, and educational access, the ENC believes the cumulative financial impacts over time could result in operational losses in the millions of dollars, substantially affecting the organization’s long-term sustainability and its ability to continue serving the community at its current level.
Stand With the ENC on November 17
The next major step is the Newport Beach City Council hearing on Tuesday, November 17.
Please plan to attend and show your support for the Environmental Nature Center and ENC Nature Preschool. We will post additional details here as they become available, including the hearing time, how to submit comments to the City Council, and other ways you can help.
Sign up for email alerts and check the “ENC Land Protection Updates” box to receive important updates and action opportunities.
Thank you for standing with the ENC and helping us protect this irreplaceable place for generations to come.
* Project renderings and graphics are taken from application materials submitted by the developer to the City of Newport Beach and made publicly available through the City’s website, linked above.