Council votes to implement fire codes in harbor

June Casagrande

Torn between fire safety and protecting the economy of the harbor,

City Council members on Tuesday took their first small step toward

eradicating a dangerous and widespread practice of illegally berthing

boats in the harbor.

Council members voted 4-0, with Tod Ridgeway abstaining and Gary

Adams absent, to begin a gradual implementation of county fire codes,

despite pleas from marine business owners sure to suffer.

“It’s going to be a burden to a company like ours,” said Gary

Crane, one of the owners of Duffy Boat Rentals.

A recent survey showed that at about half the commercial docks in

the harbor, boats are in violation of fire codes.

Codes require that, in case of fire, all boats should be able to

be moved quickly and without having to move other boats out of their

way first. But the codes have not been enforced for so long, that

many businesses are dependent on these illegal berthing practices for

their survival. Some of the affected businesses include small boat

rental companies and yacht brokerages.

The city’s Harbor Commission created a strategy to slowly begin to

correct this problem, and council members on Tuesday voted to move

ahead with their plan.

“It’s an extremely difficult situation,” Mayor Steve Bromberg

said. “How do you compromise fire safety? But at the same time, how

do you protect fire safety without really hurting these businesses?”

Businesses violating the fire codes will receive notice that they

have six months to come up with a plan to correct the problem. In

some cases this will mean reconstructing or reconfiguring their

docks. Then, once the city approves the plan, the business owner will

have another six months to implement it.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

[email protected].