CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

Crystal Cove Pole Could Be Removed, Coastal Commission Says

A 30-foot utility pole that was placed by Crystal Cove State Park last spring — without a Coastal Commission permit — could be removed, a Coastal Commission staff member said this week.

The pole was placed by the NextG telecommunications company. Company officials said the California Department of Transportation, which has jurisdiction there, issued a permit for the pole in February 2010.

But the Coastal Commission did not issue a permit, and soon a notice of a pending permit was attached to the pole. NextG officials offered to move the pole across the street (read our story here), but a permit application for that proposal is no longer being processed, said Andrew Willis, an enforcement analyst for the Coastal Commission’s Orange and Los Angeles counties offices.

“We will be in touch with NextG to inform them there is no permit,” Willis said. “It’s a nice stretch of coastline, and the view is impacted. We will have to take steps to address that.”

There is not a firm deadline to remove the pole, he said.

NextG made headlines last July when they sought to add utility poles in several Newport Beach locations, including in front of the Cameo Highlands neighborhood.

The City Council denied the request, and then Mayor Keith Curry said the plan to add the poles was “about as offensive to as many people in the city as it could possibly be.” Read our story here.

NextG did not reply to multiple emails seeking comment for this story.