Newport Beach: Reopening Newport Beach Businesses Safely And Responsibly

Press release from the City of Newport Beach:

The Governor recently announced the State's plan for slowly lifting the statewide, March 19, 2020 Stay-at-Home Order and initiated a staged, ordered, reopening of businesses, sector by sector.

The State’s process for easing the Stay-at-Home order spans four separate stages.

• Stage 1 focuses on safety and preparedness
• Stage 2, divided in two phases, provides the first opportunity for non-essential businesses to open, with operational modifications
• Stage 3 allows for the reopening of higher risk workplaces
• Stage 4 lifts all restrictions

“Early Stage 2” begins Friday, May 8, and permits retail, manufacturing and logistics businesses to open, if they can meet the public health guidelines provided by the State. Business owners should make their own determinations, based on the State’s guidance, as to if, how and when they can open their stores or facilities.

The City of Newport Beach’s economy is ready to recover and we support efforts at the State and County levels to reopen our business quickly and safely. At the City level, our City Council and staff will remain focused on protecting businesses, employees, and customers. To that end, the City Council formed an ad hoc committee comprised of Mayor Will O’Neill and Council Members Diane Dixon and Kevin Muldoon to solicit input from community stakeholders and provide advice to the City Council.

The City of Newport Beach has not passed any resolution or ordinance that has closed any business in the City during this time (the lone exception being short term lodging). There is no process for a business to apply to the City for reopening, nor would there be any expectation that a business would make such an application.

The City has received requests from businesses and residents seeking clarification on the status of businesses reopening in light of various statements, orders, and resolutions adopted by the State of California and County of Orange. We first recommend that requests for clarification be directed to the agency that created the rules addressing specific businesses. Both the State and the County have enforcement capabilities and it would be prudent for businesses to seek clarification where questions arise. To the extent that questions of enforcement of other agencies’ or governments’ orders or resolutions arise, the City will resolve ambiguities in favor of our local businesses. Where there is clarity of law, the City will first conduct education and seek voluntary compliance before enforcement.

We have clearly seen that the overwhelming majority of Newport Beach businesses want to operate safely and encourage businesses to create environments that are both safe and create consumer confidence that the environment is safe. To that end, we ask our businesses to please review the guidelines that the State released and we recommend following key safety advice. The City is committed to working with our businesses to help answer questions and we welcome feedback as well.

For more information, please visit the following pages on our website:

• Reopening Businesses
• Small Business Support
• Business & Employee Resources

Message To Consumers: We are confident our businesses will reopen in a safe and responsible manner. To our residents and those who shop and dine in Newport Beach, we encourage you to continue to take measures to protect your health and safety. You know your own risk factors and tolerance best. We encourage you not to go anywhere in public or private that makes you feel unsafe. If you have any questions, please contact us.

This press release was produced by the City of Newport Beach. The views expressed here are the author’s own.