Newport dinghy plan going to council

June Casagrande

It’s been a careful balancing act between mooring permit holders who

have no place to store their dinghies and residents who would prefer

not to cede their beaches to dinghy storage, but harbor commissioners

believe they’ve come up with a plan to please the most people most of

the time.

The commission’s plan would install racks for a total of 60

dinghies spread out over five locations: Fernando Street, 15th

Street, 16th Street, 18th Street and at the Balboa Yacht Basin.

Planning commissioners decided to drop two other sites, 19th Street

and the Lido Bridge, after residents said these were bad places for

the racks.

Bay Avenue resident Beverly Lucas, who had spoken at the

commission meeting in July to protest the 19th Street rack, was one

of a number of residents who gave their input on the plan.

“That’s a mothers’ beach,” Lucas said. “There’s a safety issue.

Kids would play on them.”

Lucas said she’s pleased that commissioners heeded residents’

concerns and dropped 19th Street as a potential site for a dinghy

rack.

If approved by the City Council and the California Coastal

Commission, the plan would also let dinghies stay longer at some

piers. Right now, many piers allow dinghies to dock only 20 minutes.

Commissioners have proposed some exceptions to allow the boaters to

spend time ashore at local restaurants and other businesses.

Piers at 15th, 19th and Coral streets would allow dinghies to dock

for two hours on the sides of the dock, but would keep the 20-minute

time limit for dinghies attached to the bay-ward side of the dock.

The Fernando Street pump-out station would continue to allow only

20-minute docking on the bay-ward side and on the side where the

pump-out station is, but would allow two-hour docking on the other

side. All the piers would have 72-hour docking available on the side

of the pier closest to the shore.

“One of the challenges has been to make it a better place for

everyone,” Harbor Commissioner Ralph Rodheim said. “We think we’ve

come up with a plan that’s best for everyone.”

The commission has sent the proposal to the City Council for the

Dec. 9 study session. The council can vote to move forward with the

plan or send it back to the commission for further changes. Once the

council approves it, the Coastal Commission would also have to

approve it.

The plan is designed as a one-year trial, after which the city

might decide to expand it.

Space on the dinghy storage racks would be available only to

people who hold mooring permits. They would pay $14 a month to offset

the costs of building, maintaining and patrolling the dinghy racks

and piers.

* 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.