Community Commentary -- Stewart Berkshire

I would like to comment on the issue of tidelands (“Clock ticks on

Marinapark residents,” March 18), specifically as it applies to

Marinapark.

The article stated that “areas designated . . . as tidelands cannot be

used for residential purposes.” This is not entirely true. There are a

number of circumstances under which tidelands can be and are used for

residential purposes.

For example, there are million-dollar homes built on city-owned

property formerly designated as tidelands, and their happy owners were

granted long-term leases in Beacon Bay right here in Newport Beach. The

city executed that neat maneuver by sponsoring legislation substituting

that prime waterfront property with inland property of lesser value that

has absolutely no connection with the natural ebb and flow of tides. A

similar example is the Balboa Bay Club property, where there are large

apartment buildings that also enjoy a long-term lease.

The city used the Marinapark property for mobile home occupancy for

years because it was to its advantage to fulfill a low-income housing

requirement imposed by law. There are other circumstances as well where

mobile home parks are considered to be an acceptable use of trust

property.

The irony of the Marinapark example is that the city has already

recognized the very strong evidence that Marinapark is actually situated

on “uplands” and not on tidelands at all. In 1927, lawsuits were brought

by the city against owners of property around the bay to determine the

status with regard to ownership. This included the lands abutting

Marinapark on both sides. The result was that all were declared

“uplands.” In order to further secure the owners’ title, a bill was

sponsored in the state Legislature officially declaring those properties

to be not tidelands. The city did not include its own property, which is

Marinapark, but its situation is obviously the same as the properties on

either side.

In 1998, First American Title Co. was requested to survey the

Marinapark property and give its opinion as to its status. First

American, one of the largest and most reputable title companies in the

country, was so convinced that it not only declared this area uplands,

but it also issued a title policy to that effect in the city’s name. The

city is in possession of that document. In fact, the council was so

strongly convinced of the validity of that title policy that it voted

unanimously to support a request to the State Lands Commission for

official recognition of this finding. The State Lands Commission has been

unwilling to rule on the status to this date. Council members’ memory is

faulty when they now declare that this property is tidelands.

The city’s current infatuation with the prospect of a five-star hotel

on that site has incited them to trot out that tired old refuted claim

that Marinapark is situated on tidelands and therefore is unsuitable for

residential use. There is ample evidence to believe that if it were to be

decided in a court of law, they would lose.

* STEWART BERKSHIRE is president of the Marinapark Homeowner’s Assn.