150 boats in violation

June Casagrande

If fire codes were enforced tomorrow, 150 boats in the harbor would

have to disappear overnight.

As council members heard in disturbing detail at their study

session Tuesday, the status quo of fire safety is not OK, especially

at marinas, yacht brokerages and other on-water businesses. Harbor

Resources Manager Tom Rossmiller gave the council a presentation on

the state of things in the harbor and on a proposal by the city’s

Harbor Commission to kindly and gently crack down.

The problem is that too many commercial boats are crammed too

tightly into local docks and moorings. Fire codes require that all

boats be berthed in a way that, in case of fire, they can be moved

individually without having to move other boats out of their way

first. And about 150 don’t fit the bill. The solution, as it now

stands, is a gradual move toward getting businesses to comply. First,

send out notices. Then, give them six months to come up with an

action plan. Then, if the action plan is approved, give them another

six months to implement it. Typical solutions could include

reconfiguring docks or renting space at other docks or moorings. But

that solution is complicated by the fact that the harbor is already

hard up for qualified contractors that perform this type of work.

“One of the biggest problems we have is a lack of qualified

vendors in the bay,” said Tim Collins, chairman of the Harbor

Commission.

Council members responded by instructing staff and harbor

commissioners to look for ways to improve fire safety in the harbor

while looking for ways to make it easier on businesses.

“It’s going to hurt somewhat, but we do have an obligation to

protect the public,” Mayor Steve Bromberg said. “We should be looking

for compromises.”

For now, officials are focusing only on commercial boats, but

private boats could come into their sights in the future.

“We feel that residential permittees also need to come into

compliance,” Rossmiller said. “But we think they follow in priority

to commercial marinas.”

The matter will go back to the Harbor Commission to hammer out

further details for short-term solutions. Longer-range plans will

likely include the commission working in concert with the City

Council.

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

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

june.casagrande@latimes.com.