Newport Beach, California, is an affluent coastal city in Orange County known for its stunning beaches, upscale real estate, and vibrant surf culture. And now, it just might host a wave pool.

The wave pool project

Snug Harbor Surf Park (not to be confused with the New Orleans jazz club of the same name) will go up at 3100 Irvine Avenue if approved. The plans want to transform a 15.38-acre section of a public Newport Beach Golf Course into a Wavegarden Cove development.

Owners say the goal of the facility is to make surfing more accessible by eliminating the challenges of crowded beaches and unpredictable conditions. In addition to the wave basin, the site will feature a surf academy, surf shop, coffee shop, restaurant, and bar. There will also be viewing platforms, seating, three warming pools, and a spa.

Snug Harbor will also include a three-story clubhouse with a reception area, surf academy, fitness facility, yoga center, and administration offices. An additional two-story athlete accommodation building will provide 20 units, each with a bed, bathroom, closet, and patio facing the surf lagoon. Solar canopies will be installed on building tops and over parts of the parking areas to generate renewable energy for the wave machine and pool heating.

What needs to happen before you can surfing

The Project is consistent with the Parks and Recreation designation but needs a General Plan Amendment to increase the development limit from 20,000 to 59,772 square feet. It also requires a Conditional Use Permit to allow for a building taller than 18 feet and a Modification Permit for retaining walls exceeding 8 feet near Irvine Avenue and Mesa Drive.

Additionally, a Major Site Development Review is necessary for the larger building, and EPD Solutions is preparing an Environmental Impact Report to meet state requirements. So don’t go buying your season pass just yet.

Newport Beach

The area is one of the most expensive real estate zones in America and, beyond surfing, features a variety of outdoor activities, including kayaking in the Back Bay, and boating in Newport Harbor. Surf-wise, a series of jetties create thumping beach tubes during the right conditions. It was also the birthplace of the 1980s Echo Beach movement propagated by fledgling-at-the-time surf brand Quiksilver.

Laylan Connelly of the OC Register and local realtor Chris Moreno have been following this story as well. Chris Moreno’s Instagram page features a lively debate with the pros and cons of the development.

Newport Beach doing impact study on proposed wave pool