Marinapark gets two-year lease extension

Noaki Schwartz

NEWPORT BEACH -- The city will offer a two-year lease extension to

the residents of the Marinapark mobile home park who were otherwise

facing a March 15 eviction notice, officials said Thursday.

“This is very good news,” said Marinapark spokesman Stewart Berkshire.

Deputy City Manager Dave Kiff said the council agreed to the lease

extension in its closed-session meeting Tuesday.

Prior to the move, which was initiated by the council, the 7-acre mobile

home park appeared somewhat marginalized. The park is a small community

of 58 coaches, less than half of which are occupied by permanent

residents.

The $530,000 the mobile homes generate in revenue accounts for nearly all

of the total revenue from the 10-acre site between 15th and 18th streets

along Balboa Boulevard. However, that has been eclipsed by the millions

in estimated annual revenue offered by developers proposing anything from

boutique hotels to a five-star spa resort.

The site has become one of the most coveted parcels of land in Newport

Beach, with developers drooling at the thought of the leases expiring.

And while there were offers to allow the Girl Scouts facility and

American Legion Post 291 that also occupy the site to either stay or

relocate, nothing concrete was offered to the mobile home residents.

“You don’t dare touch the Girl Scout House or the American Legion or

you’d have a riot,” Berkshire said. “It’s like disturbing a beehive. We

just don’t have that kind of constituency here.”

While the 24 months is not a permanent solution, it does buy the city and

the mobile home park more time. At the end of last year, the council

announced that it would consider a number of proposals for the site.

Eight were submitted last Friday, including one by the mobile home

community.

Councilman Gary Adams said he thinks it’s reasonable to give the mobile

home owners a lease extension as long as it doesn’t interfere with the

proposals the city has received.

But before the council can even begin to consider any of the proposals,

they have to study what kind of effect relocation could have on the

residents. And this could take up to a year and a half to complete.

Complicating the issue is the lingering question about whether the mobile

home property lies within protected tidelands. Depending on the answer,

the community could be forced to permanently relocate. While a resort is

one of the allowable tideland uses, residential structures are not.

The city sent a request to the State Lands Commission two years ago to

determine if the land should be protected, but is still waiting for a

reply. Kiff said the city may finally receive one at the end of this

month.

In the meantime, the extended lease offers the mobile home community

nearly the same terms as the existing agreement, Kiff said. Each coach

owner pays the city about $9,100 per year in rent.

Mobile home residents, however, are crossing their fingers in hopes that

the city will approve their proposal. The plan, which was submitted in

cooperation with the Terra Vista Management, calls for the community to

stay on the site permanently but with new landscaping, increased parking,

improved beach access and expanded tennis courts.

“We’re still attempting to get a long-term lease,” Berkshire said. “I’m

sure [the council] is going to look and see what’s best for the city.”