City may consider dock rentals

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- Mayor Tod Ridgeway says he would support the idea of

studying how many private dock owners rent out space for others’ boats if

local and state officials say the study should be done.

Ridgeway on Thursday also clarified comments he made at the March 12

council meeting on the subject.

“My point was that if anything was to be done it should be looked at

in a City Council study session,” Ridgeway said Thursday. “The question

is: Do we want to commission a consultant to study the magnitude of the

problem? . . . If the State Lands Commission and the city staff feel it’s

a problem, then it should be put into a study session.”

He added that the surveys used in a January 2001 study looking into

dock rentals might not be the best indicator of how many private dock

slips are rented out. This is because many larger boats are often

“documented” by the Coast Guard numbers instead of having prominently

displayed Department of Motor Vehicle licensing numbers, also known as

“CF numbers.” These bigger boats, often 30 feet and larger, might be less

likely to be owned by someone other than the dock owner, Ridgeway noted.

“Documented boats might not be the same,” he said.

Ridgeway’s comments come in the wake of the recent revelation that $4

million or more a year might be coming to Newport Beach private dock

owners as rent for dock space. The report looked at CF numbers on 63

boats and estimated that up to 62% of the boats at Newport Beach private

docks are not owned by the homeowner.

This may be a problem because the city is only a trustee of these

state-owned tidelands. Often, a portion of commercial profits from use of

tidelands is supposed to be set aside to pay for environmental

preservation and improvements.

Curtis Fossum of the State Lands Commission said he would probably

inquire into the practice in Newport Beach to help determine whether the

city-administered Tidelands Fund should benefit.

The practice might also be in violation of city ordinances. The rules

describe commercial docks as those with multiple slips that are rented

out to boat owners. Piers used for private recreational purposes by the

owner or occupant of an adjacent home are classified as noncommercial.

Ridgeway also noted that people renting out their dock space creates

another problem.

“The other issue is parking,” he said. “In the summer on the

peninsula, parking is a serious problem and this might add to it.”

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .