Harbor official:

After five years, countless newspaper articles and widespread TV coverage, Newport Beach officials say there’s no more excuses for locals not making their boats, docks and moors sea-lion proof.

“We’ve been dealing with this pretty strongly for the last four or five years. Everybody knows the sea lions are here from May to October,” said Chris Miller, the city’s Harbor Resources manager. “If you know your [property] is prone to sea lions, you need to fix it.”

By fixing it, Miller is referring to the plethora of ways boat owners, residents along the harbor or people renting moors can set up nets, barricades, anything to keep the pinnipeds from gathering above water in the harbor.

In the past, residents got plenty of warning before they were cited for not barricading their things. No more.

Likely by May 1, residents who find their boats, docks or moors becoming hang-outs for barking, territorial sea lions, will get a single warning to fix it. The warning is a letter or advisement from city staff that the property needs to have proper barricades set up to deter the sea lions. After seven days, if nothing has been done, city staff can issue a citation.

A first citation is $100. A second is $200, and from the third on, citations are $500. Technically, Miller said, citations can be given out every 24 hours, but they would probably not be distributed with that kind of fervor.

“I hope we never have to go through administrative citations,” Miller said. “But I need to make it very clear to the boat owners and pier and moor permitees that this is a problem.”

The Harbor Commission approved the tighter timeline for warning residents Wednesday. From there, the change to the city’s municipal code would go through two readings at the City Council and then a 30-day waiting period before taking effect. That would put the code coming into effect at the beginning of May, when the first wave of sea lions usually comes in, he said.

Sea lions are present in the harbor year round, but only from May and October do their numbers noticeably swell, and irritate some residents.

“Their patience is wearing thin because the sea lions keep them up at night,” Miller said.

The ocean-loving mammals often bark when fighting for territory.

As the sea lions’ presence has become known over the last years, the city’s approach to residents who don’t prepare for them has changed. It started with a letter giving them 30 days to barricade their property, followed by a second warning letter giving them a week. Two years later, it was tightened to a 10-day letter, followed by a seven-day letter.

Soon, it’ll be one strike and you’re out.

“I don’t think it’s going to solve the problem, but it takes us a little bit closer to managing wildlife,” Miller said.