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City of Dana Point and OC Dana Point Harbor's Proposed Building Heights
During the October 2010 Land Use Plan hearing the California Coastal Commission fully recognized the City’s proposed commercial expansion was pushing out and damaging the harbor’s existing recreational boating resources. Hence they made a motion that instead of the 50 and 60 foot buildings in the City’s proposal that the buildings height must be consistent with the local community which is approximately 35’. The passed motion was NOT correctly implemented in the final document. Click to read more and see the documents.
Take Our Harbor Back
During this election time it is important to understand what has and is happening to boaters. It is our elected officials that set the tone for our harbor; establish the leadership, set the goals and directions for that leadership. We have found some of the County elected officials open, approachable, and collaborative while putting their belief in a transparent government into action.
Outgoing Tax Collector/Treasurer Chriss Street along with his most capable Deputy Treasurer Keith Rodenhuis, the Auditor/Controller David Sunstrom, Sheriff Sandra Hutchins and even Assessor Webster Guillory most certainly fall into this category. We say “even Webster Guillory” because despite our divergent views, we certainly do not agree with what OC DPH Department forced him to do to us with respect to the Possessory Interest tax but we found his willingness to be transparent a sharp contrast to his political peers on the fifth floor.
It should be noted that fifth district boaters unfortunately do not have a choice for the most important post in County government as Supervisor Pat Bates is running for re-election unopposed.
While we feel that some within the City of Dana Point government want to help boaters, their stronger desire to not offend the County of Orange has yielded every single action going against boaters. For those in the City of Dana Point government and the 5 th District Supervisor (and all those who care about the Harbor), this video is for you:
Viewing Room
Boaters for DPH Provide Detailed Input to the Coastal Commission
Boaters for Dana Point Harbor have been working on recommendations to the Revitalization’s Implementation Plan to bring it into compliance with state law and the 39 amendments made by the Commission. We hope that the Commission will continue to be receptive to our recommendations aimed at preserving and protecting recreational boating. You can read the text of the recommendations and cover letters to the Coastal Commission on the Documents Page.
Check back here frequently as we anticipate that the hearing on the Implementation Plan could be on June 9th. See details on the Event Calendar.
If Spring is Approching it must be Slip Fee Increase Season in Dana Point Harbor
The County of Orange has announced that slip fees will not be increased in 2010. Boaters for Dana Point Harbor have picked up where we left off last year and strongly feel that Dana Point Boaters are due a significant slip fee reduction. Our harbor is the most expensive municipal marina in the United States. Please take a look at the Slip Fee project on the Projects page for details.
Coastal Commission updated Land Use Plan issued 1.29.2010
Boaters for Dana Point Harbor received the following updated document issued by the California Coastal Commission Staff to the Applicant: the City of Dana Point and the County of Orange. The document is intended to embody the agreement reached during the hearing on October 8th 2009 in Oceanside. The City and County have been afforded the opportunity to review and wordsmith the document. The public will only have a similar opportunity to do this when the issue comes before the City for ratification and the Coastal Commission on appeal. To see the updated documents click here.
City of Dana Point to hold hearing on above document 2.8.2010
The community (i.e., boaters) will be given less than 10 days to review the 144 page document that the County, City and Coastal Commission Staff have been working on since October 8 th, 2009.. Check back here frequently for any possible updates as Boaters for Dana Point Harbor digest the document and evaluate if all of the changes have been correctly made. To read the notice for the City hearing please click here. Don’t forget to put it into your calendar!
Waterside Process – Notice Of Preparation, NOP
After putting the waterside design on hold to avoid having both the Landside and Waterside before the Coastal Commission at the same time the Harbor Department is now moving the waterside design and permitting process forward. The next deadline is February 4 th when comments on the NOP must be submitted to the Director. To see the new notice and the original document please click here. The links are on the left side of the County's web site.
Land Use Plan Approved By Coastal Commission
Boaters showed up in huge numbers to let the California Coastal Commission know that Boaters are getting the short end of the deal on the proposed City and County Commercial Expansion. Boaters for Dana Point Harbor are very proud of the way boaters signed the petition (over 800 so far), wrote letters, and came to the hearing to testify. They remained professional, on topic and relevant. The Commission responded by observing that the proposed Commercial Expansion was occurring at the expense of recreational boating resources. They made amending motions that preserve boating resources both in the water and on the land.
The next phase is the hearings on the Implementation Plan which have not yet been scheduled. The City and County will only have a completed Local Coastal Plan when both the Land Use Plan and the Implementation Plan are approved. Boaters for Dana Point Harbor will keep you apprised of the next steps as they develop. Please make sure you are on our Boaters Blog distribution list.
To all of those that signed the petition and/or wrote letters and/or came to the hearing, and/or spoke at the hearing the volunteer organizers of Boaters for Dana Point Harbor would like to say, THANK YOU!
City's & County's Plans Seriously Harm Boaters
With the issuance of the California Coastal Commission's Staff Report last Friday boaters are now able to begin to digest what our host city, Dana Point, and our landlord, the County of Orange, have in store for us, and it is not pretty. Despite recent claims that another collaborative approach has yielded awesome progress, I strongly and respectfully disagree. At this point I can show no humor and with the strongest words I know encourage everyone to speak out to your elected officials, the City and County staff and please, please, please attend the California Coastal Commission Hearing on June 11th. This hearing may prove our last opportunity to protect our recreational boating in Dana Point Harbor.
The good news is that I, and the many boaters that I've been working with, have been giving speeches, writing papers, publishing articles, testifying, and reporting for the last 2½ years that this City(County) proposal is not consistent with the California Coastal Act, in specific Chapter 3. Thankfully, the California Coastal Commission agreed with us and took the action of issuing a staff report recommending a DENIAL of the application because it fails to adhere to Chapter 3 of the Coastal Act. For those of you who have not read it yet, but are probably correctly guessing, it is Chapter 3 that deals with, among other things, the protection of recreational boating activities. To remedy this very serious error the Coastal Commission took it upon themselves to completely re-write the City of Dana Point's Proposed Land Use Plan. While this may have happened in the past I have not been able to find anyone that could remember when such a severe action was taken by the Commission's Staff. During the re-write the Coastal Commission Staff has been meeting weekly with the City, County and consultants paid for by the City and the County to write the newest proposed Land Use Plan. The bad news is that this LUP is not only the Staff's input, which worked hard to bring it into compliance with Chapter 3 of the Coastal Act, but also includes new things that were brought forward by the City (and the County?) Staff.The end result is what can only be described as a full head on attack of Recreational Boating by the City and County. A "track changes" version was not provided but it appears that this LUP (Land Use Plan) leaves almost nothing untouched in some way. The following lists some of the things that are taken away from boaters by this City/(County) Land Use Plan:
1) The County will now be allowed to move our dedicated boater parking up to 1,000 feet away from the docks! This allows them to clear more boater parking away from the expanded hotel and the much needed parking in the East Cove for the Commercial Expansion.
2) The City joined forces with two shipyards from Newport to show the Commission that it was ok to strip Dana Point boaters of 1 acre of our in harbor shipyard (the city and county need the acre to make sure there is room for the Festival Plaza). Does the City/County care that we will now have to go to Newport (probably one of the two shipyards helping the City) to get our boats repaired and maintained? Hopefully the CCC will care.
3) There may, or may not, be enough room in the new plan to replace the existing 683 dry boat storage locations in the "Commercial Core". No one will say and only the City and County can provide the answer and they are not saying anything!
4) The County will be allowed to eliminate 477 net slips, and to the CCC Staff's credit they recognize that this means that on the order of 1,100 boats will likely have to come out of the water. Unfortunately, the Land Use Plan attempts to protect these boaters with the same land that in all likelihood is not enough to protect the existing dry boat storage (Two boats in the same space?).
5) The Trailer Tow Vehicle Parking areas . . .take a look at the original design and look at what the City has planned for us. Enough said. Does it really make sense to have fewer and smaller spaces with a parking garage in the middle?
6) No new Yacht Clubs or Boating Clubs are allowed, ever, in Dana Point Harbor. Both Yacht Clubs have been awesome citizens here in the Harbor, bending over backwards to work with the City and County. The only possible explanation is that the City wants to make sure that as many buildings as possible are available for stores and restaurants.
7) Parking remains the number one problem for almost all activities in the Harbor of Dana Point. One of the ways the City/County will be allowed to implement the massive commercial expansion is by harvesting parking from boaters. In the East Commercial Cove dedicated boater parking will be drastically reduced from 1 acre to .4 acres. That is a 60% decrease in dedicated boater parking!
It appears that, based on the last Boaters Blasts from the DPBA, there are well intended, but totally inappropriate activities going on behind closed doors shielded from public scrutiny. The rumored MOU between OC DPH and SCWD is aimed at helping the City and County solve some of the serious parking problems by securing more land for displaced boaters on the South Coast Water District property. Boaters need to stand up and agree with the California Coastal Commission Staff that boater resources have to be protected within the Harbor and not be banished to some distant location. Simply put boat storage on South Coast Water District Rate Payers land is not acceptable MITIGATION for the City and County's attempt to build stores and restaurants where boaters operate today. Offsite boat storage is not the same.
If you are told by any City or County Elected official, their staff, or OC Dana Point Harbor (Harbor Department) that this plan is good for boating then they are clearly misinformed, misspeaking, or disingenuous. This plan is bad for Recreational Boating on every conceivable dimension and is thankfully still not consistent with the Coastal Act. Please do not allow the City of Dana Point and the County of Orange with their "Hired Guns" to consult, spend, and pressure this through the Coastal Commission process. Please attend the meeting and protect California State Law and YOUR recreational boating.
For Details on the Meeting, Location and Logistics please continue on to the Events Calendar .
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Welcome to the Website dedicated to moving the Dana Point Harbor Revitalization forward. While it has taken many years to get here, we may be in the home stretch to obtaining the approvals that we need from the California Coastal Commission that would allow us to update our harbor.
Hopefully you will find all of the tools that you need to stay current, get involved, and help us move this project forward.
When the California Coastal Commission considers LCPA 03-06 there are three possible outcomes.
- The Commission Denies the LCPA – Bad for Boaters
- The Commission Approves the LCPA exactly as submitted (almost never happens) – Worse than bad for Boaters
- The Commission Approves the LCPA with amendments (if approved they are almost always amended) – Best for Boaters and Community
We feel that Outcome number 1 would be very bad for boaters and the community at large and hope that no one is focusing on this possibility. Outcome number 2 is even worse than number 1 because it allows so many recreational boating resources for the community to be removed and replaced with business and commercial interests. Clearly the best alternative is to encourage and support the Coastal Commission with amending the LCPA so that the community can continue to have a recreational harbor that not only serves boaters but is exciting for non-boating visitors.
Please join us in supporting the Dana Point Harbor Revitalization.
Bruce Heyman
Founder and Leader
Boater for Dana Point Harbor
Founder, First President & Former Advisor
Dana Point Boaters Association
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