Beaches Stay Closed: Judge Declines Restraining Order Brought On By Orange County City Councils
ORANGE COUNTY (CBSLA) — An Orange County Superior Court judge declined requests for temporary restraining orders lifting Gov. Gavin Newsom's orders to close Orange County's beaches.
Attorneys for the cities of Huntington Beach and Dana Point went before Hon. Nathan R. Scott in Santa Ana Friday afternoon asking to halt the beach closures.
Scott denied the request for a temporary restraining order that was also supported by the City of Newport Beach.
On Thursday, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Dana Point city councils voted to challenge the orders after the governor announced a "hard closure" of all state and local beaches in Orange County.
Shortly after Newsom's announcement, Newport Beach City Council held an emergency meeting on his orders. Councilman Kevin Muldoon introduced a motion to join with other O.C. cities filing litigation.
In a statement Friday, Dana Point City Council said in part:
"The three cites sought to prevent enforcement of Governor Newsom's order to close Orange County beaches until a more complete briefing on the topic could occur in connection with a request for a preliminary injunction. In denying the TRO, the Court commented that based on the limited time it had to consider the very serious issues presented, it felt compelled to defer to the State's concerns about public health."
According to the statement, staff received a request from the State to participate in a call to develop a plan to reopen beaches in Orange County.
A plan to reopen beaches has been developed and will be submitted to the State over the weekend, the statement read.
Newport Beach Mayor Will O'Neill said he has a plan in place before Newsom ordered the beaches closed.
"The plan was to staff up," O'Neill said. "We were going to have up to two to three times the amount of police department personnel, lifeguard personnel."
Meanwhile, police say between 2,500 and 3,000 people gathered on Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach Friday to protest the orders.
The judge set a hearing for Monday, May 11 to consider the city's request for an injunction against Newsom's order.