Dock fee reduction on agenda for Newport Beach City Council

A proposal to reduce dock fees for residential pier owners by 2 cents per square foot will go before the Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday.

The resolution also would revise the residential pier permit to protect piers from unlawful seizure and adjust the amount of dock space considered usable — and therefore subject to fees, according to a city staff report.

In 2012, the City Council approved an ordinance that increased dock fees for residential piers, fuel docks and commercial marinas on state-owned, city-administered tidelands.

The decision, amid public outcry, meant that pier owners would, by 2017, be paying 52.5 cents per square foot of usable dock space instead of what they used to pay – a flat $100 a year.

The fees started at 12.9 cents per square foot in 2013 and have increased about 10 cents per square foot a year, city documents show.

Annual rent on residential docks has ranged from $400 to $2,000. The revenue is spent on improvements to the harbor, according to city documents.

Opponents, many from a group called Stop the Dock Tax, have said the increases are a money grab by the city.

Councilmen Kevin Muldoon and Scott Peotter and Mayor Pro Tem Diane Dixon indicated during a study session last month that they favor lowering the fees.

Mayor Ed Selich and Councilman Marshall “Duffy” Duffield recused themselves from the discussion.

Muldoon, Peotter, Dixon and Duffield, who campaigned in last year’s council election on a slate known as “Team Newport,” vowed that they would review the dock fees if elected in November. The four were aided in their campaign by Bob McCaffrey, a local activist and head of Stop the Dock Tax.

However, Councilman Keith Curry has said the fee increases were necessary to meet state requirements that the city charge “fair market rents” on state-owned land.

The State Lands Commission, which entrusted the city as the steward of the tidelands, could assume control of the land, which could result in higher fees – not subject to city control – on residential dock owners.

If the council approves the new proposal, city residents will pay 50.5 cents per square foot for their docks instead of 52.5 cents per square foot each month by 2017.

Most residents pay annually but they can arrange to make monthly payments. Previously, homeowners were charged for the U-space in between the residential piers.

Under the new plan, that space, amounting to 313,506 square feet throughout the tidelands, would not be added to the fee calculation.

State Lands Commission staff is not opposed to the 2-cent reduction to residential pier rent, according to the city staff report.

However, the agency’s staff indicated it is their established practice to include the U-shape of a slip within the pier footprint, “as doing so reflects what they see as a private use of public property,” the report states.

Few visitors will consider the interior of the U-shape to be usable public space, they argue.

“Ultimately, the decision to include or exclude the interior U-shape of a slip is left to the discretion of the City Council,” city staff wrote. “As to whether the [commission] will deem our actions (especially relating to the water in the U) as contrary to our responsibilities under the Tidelands Trust, that is unknown.”

Staff estimates that change will result in a revenue reduction for the city of about $179,107 per year by 2017, the report states.

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Balboa Peninsula overlay district

In other business, the council is expected to discuss the creation of an overlay district to modify standards and regulations related to restaurants, bars, lounges and nightclubs on the Balboa Peninsula that sell alcohol.

The overlay would include performance standards and regulations specific to the Peninsula in an effort to address the effects of restaurants and bars that sell alcohol and are open past 11 p.m., according to a city staff report.

New restaurants and bars are required to get a use permit and operator license from the city that regulates hours of operation, noise, security and responsible alcoholic beverage service.

However, many existing late-hour establishments were approved long before the city implemented the requirement to obtain a use permit, meaning they are not regulated the same way as new businesses, the staff report states.

The zoning code amendment could affect commercial and mixed-use zoning districts from 47th Street to Balboa Village.

With dozens of restaurants and bars along the stretch of the coast, the Balboa Peninsula is the sole remaining downtown area that offers patrons a walkable nightlife in Newport Beach.

However, Balboa Peninsula residents have complained for years about the noise created from the active party scene that’s present in the area at night and on the weekend.

If given the nod by the council on Tuesday, city staff would bring the issue back to the council for a study session prior to placing the issue before the Planning Commission for public discussion.

The council meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 100 Civic Center Drive.