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What if mooring fees rolled back a bit, and transferability returned?

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Newport Mooring Association
Dear Mooring,

PLEASE ATTEND THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING, this TUESDAY, January 26, 7:00PM. 
FINAL FEE LEVEL IS NOT SETTLED – NEW APPRAISAL SHOWS $32 to $38/ft/yr.
Opinions range from far above to well below this range AND there will be more discussion.  TRANSFERABILITY is slated to come to the Council in late February or early March.

STAFF PRESENTATION, AUDIENCE TESTIMONY AND COUNCIL REVIEW ARE intended to begin at 7:30PM. (This could occur earlier or later, best to be seated sooner.)
YOUR PRESENCE MATTERS.  We’ve come this far; PLEASE BE THERE!

Congratulations to the NMA which has worked so hard to reduce the fee from almost $57 per foot per year, to what may be a fee in the neighborhood of $35 per year, almost a $1,000 per year savings for a 40 foot mooring.   The NMA has also fought hard to restore transferability of moorings.  But we're not finished, and we need your help TOMORROW NIGHT to make this a reality.

You will recall that after a Council action back in 2011, off-shore mooring fees were increased in annual steps from $20/ft/yr in 2010 to $55.43/ft in 2015, and were slated to reach just under $57.00/ft/yr in 2016. Billing for 2016 has been held off (thank you!) to give current Council time to act.          
Meeting Location:

Newport Beach Civic Center – Council Chambers

100 Civic Center Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660
map and directions

Meeting Date & Time:     Tuesday, J
anuary 26, 7pm



Last June the Harbor Commission, after four months of study and extensive public and Newport Mooring Association (NMA) input, recommended $25.00/ft/yr. The Council voted for $35.00/ft/yr. However, the Council deferred implementation, pending discussion with the State Lands Commission (SLC), at SLC request. That delay led to an updated appraisal by Netzer & Associates which concluded that fair market rent is in a range of $32/ft/yr to $38/ft/yr.

The City Staff Report recommends $35/ft/yr for off-shore moorings and half that for on-shore. The accompanying proposed Resolution calls for these amounts beginning in 2016 and annual increases thereafter equal to CPI increases or 2%, whichever is lower, with possible future new appraisals after March 1, 2018, and every fifth year thereafter. The Council Members may choose to approve as written or modify as they deem suitable.


The fee to be charged is still not without some controversy. The NMA Board is very appreciative of Council’s efforts to reduce FEES and restore TRANSFERABILITY (action due in February). However, the NMA Board stands by the detailed data, as well as the use of multiple analytical approaches as recommended by the SLC, which led to the Harbor Commission’s position that $25/ft/yr is a fair and proper rate.

NMA’s analysts reviewed the updated Netzer Appraisal, finding notable improvements in detail from the prior version, but saw errors which, if corrected, would bring the indicated rate to under $28/ft/yr. A separate huge concern of fairness to the mooring permittees that we request be addressed is how to refund or credit or otherwise resolve the substantial overcharges of the past five years.
 
Another perspective (with which the NMA Board does not agree, but feel we should share with mooring permittees,) is a position presented by a waterfront homeowner / private pier permit holder who is also a mooring permittee. He has prepared his own analysis which he believes should result in a significantly lower fee. His material is available on the NMA website, as is the Council Meeting Agenda package, at www.NewportMooringAssociation.org (links to http://www.newportmooringassociation.org).     
 
The link below leads to the City Council’s Meeting Agenda, or you can click to the City’s website (links to http://www.newportbeachca.gov/) then navigate to Council Agendas, to find the agenda for January 26th. The City’s Staff Report, Proposed Resolution, and related Appraisal are found under heading “Current Business,” at section 20 of the January 26th Council Agenda:   https://newportbeach.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=449948&GUID=32ECED00-8611-4FAA-8A8D-35360AA5E5AD
NOTE: The link to the agenda requires Adobe Reader (links to https://get.adobe.com/reader/) on your device.
 
Your personal presence at the meeting makes a huge difference in letting the Council know that this subject matters to you. Also you may find it quite interesting to attend and observe the Council in session first hand! Those who wish to speak may do so during the public hearing.
 
SEE YOU THERE!
 
CONTACT NMA:
Community Relations: Carter Ford, carterford@roadrunner.com cell: 949-413-3032
President: Don Stoughton, ddstoughton@roadrunner.com
Secretary: Bill Moses, bmoses@anchorprintingoc.com
 
PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO YOUR MOORING NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS

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