QUICK VERSION FOR ANYONE WHO ISN’T READING THE WHOLE THING:

Our elected officials have one job: represent the public. They do not get to dismiss residents while treating Newport Beach like a private cash register for developers.

Newport Beach approved the demolition of the 73,892-square-foot, 1,134-seat Big Newport Theater for two 22-story towers containing 150 private condominiums.
The replacement contains 708,850 square feet of development, but provides zero affordable homes and pays zero affordable-housing fees.
The City expects to collect approximately $13.8 million in mandatory development-impact fees if the project moves forward.
The only enclosed public-serving café and retail space is 1,950 square feet, just 0.28% of the project’s stated building area. Even the café may eventually be converted into a private residential amenity.
Public records show that Gino Canori, now CEO of project applicant Related California, previously contributed a combined $1,500 to the City Council campaigns of Joe Stapleton and Noah Blom. Both later served on the council that unanimously rejected the community’s appeal.
These contributions do not prove bribery or an illegal deal, but they give residents every right to demand transparency and ask whose interests City Hall is prioritizing.
We demand an immediate lawful pause on demolition, a public preservation review, complete disclosure of developer influence, and a revised plan that permanently preserves a meaningful cinema and cultural space.
THE FULL STORY:

Since opening in 1969, Big Newport has been more than a building with movie screens. It has been a gathering place for generations of residents, families, filmmakers, and moviegoers. It has supported the Newport Beach Film Festival and become an irreplaceable part of our community’s cultural identity.

The City may not personally be swinging the wrecking ball, but its approval enabled the demolition. On April 28, 2026, the Newport Beach City Council unanimously rejected the community’s appeal and allowed the project to proceed.

That decision clears the way for a 73,892-square-foot theater with 1,134 seats to be replaced by two 22-story towers containing 150 private condominiums.

Supporters may call that progress. We call it privatizing something the entire community values so a small number of people can profit from what replaces it.

FOLLOW THE MONEY AND THE SQUARE FOOTAGE:

According to the City’s own report, this project contains 708,850 square feet of development. That includes 498,469 square feet of residential space, 31,621 square feet of private resident amenities, 18,060 square feet of home offices sold exclusively to condominium owners, and 158,750 square feet of parking.

The project’s only enclosed public-serving café and retail space is just 1,950 square feet. That is approximately 2.6% of the size of the theater being destroyed and only 0.28% of the project’s stated total building area.

The plan includes publicly accessible courtyards, but even the tiny café is not guaranteed to remain public. The approval specifically allows it to be converted later into another private residential amenity.

The condominiums begin at more than 2,100 square feet, while the two penthouses reach 6,419 square feet. Residents will enter through a gated motor court monitored by a guardhouse staffed 24 hours a day.

Let’s stop pretending this is about solving Newport Beach’s housing needs. The project provides zero affordable units and pays zero affordable-housing fees.

Meanwhile, the City expects to collect approximately $8.9 million in park-dedication fees and another $4.9 million in impact fees for police, fire, water, sewer, and recreation. That is approximately $13.8 million in total fees.

These are mandatory fees intended to offset the development’s effects. They are not a generous gift to the community, and they do not compensate Newport Beach for permanently losing one of its most recognizable cultural gathering places.

This is the money-grubbing version of “progress” that residents are sick of: demolish something the public loves, maximize the private luxury square footage, collect millions in fees, and leave the community with a tiny café that can eventually be taken private too.

RESIDENTS DESERVE COMPLETE TRANSPARENCY:

Public campaign-finance records show that Gino Canori, now the CEO of Related California, contributed $1,000 to Joe Stapleton’s 2022 City Council campaign and $500 to Noah Blom’s 2020 campaign.

Both Stapleton and Blom later served on the City Council that unanimously rejected the appeal against this project.

Those contributions alone do not prove that anyone’s vote was purchased or that an illegal quid pro quo occurred. We are not making that accusation.

But when a project benefits a developer whose top executive contributed to the campaigns of officials involved in approving it, the public has every right to ask questions. Residents deserve complete disclosure of campaign contributions, private meetings, lobbying communications, financial interests, and every contact between City officials and the parties benefiting from this development.

Our elected officials have one job: represent the public. They do not get to dismiss residents while treating Newport Beach like a private cash register for developers.

OUR DEMANDS:

We call upon the Newport Beach City Council, Related California, and the property owners to use every lawful tool available to pause demolition and reopen negotiations over the future of Big Newport.

We demand an independent and publicly released analysis of preserving, renovating, or adaptively reusing the theater.

Any revised plan must preserve Big Newport or incorporate a permanent, substantial, and legally protected public cinema and arts venue. A token café that can later become private is not an acceptable replacement.

All promised public spaces must be legally guaranteed to remain accessible to the public. If this massive residential development proceeds, it must also provide meaningful community benefits, including an affordable-housing contribution.

Finally, the City must publish all relevant meetings, communications, campaign contributions, lobbying contacts, and financial disclosures involving City decision-makers, the developer, the property owners, and their representatives.

Newport Beach does not need another gated monument to private wealth built at the expense of its identity. Development should strengthen this city, not erase the places that made people care about it.

Our history, culture, and community cannot always be reduced to whichever proposal produces the largest financial return.

Representing this community is the City Council’s job. It is time for them to start acting like it.

Sign this petition and demand that Newport Beach save Big Newport Theater before this irreplaceable community landmark is gone forever.

Sources: Newport Beach City Council staff report dated April 28, 2026; Newport Beach NetFile campaign-finance database; Related California leadership information; and Daily Pilot coverage of the City Council’s unanimous decision.