Newport Harbor mooring owners could soon see their monthly payments increase by four or five times the amount they’ve paid for years.
That depends on the Newport Beach Harbor Commission, which is set to discuss increasing monthly rental rates and make a recommendation to the city council at its meeting on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
A mooring is a permanent structure for owners to store boats when they aren’t in use. Offshore moorings are placed away from land-connecting docks, requiring boaters to use a kayak or dinghy to get to their boat from dry land.
Mooring permit holders pay a monthly rental fee for their boat storage. The rental amount depends on the size of the mooring, meaning larger spots cost more to accommodate a larger vessel.
But the new proposed mooring rent increases outline changes that some mooring holders say they won’t be able to afford.
And, they add, discriminate against moorings as opposed to docks, which are not seeing that kind of increase.
The current rate is $3.34 per linear foot per month. That means a 40-foot mooring costs about $133 each month.
Under the proposed increases, a 40-foot mooring would cost $16 per linear foot per month.
That’s $640 every month — almost a 500% increase.
The proposed rate changes are different for various boat sizes. A 25-foot mooring would cost $10.50 per foot per month, while moorings 70 feet and above would cost $23.25 per foot per month.
“I want to keep this mooring at an affordable rate so I can pass this on to my son,” Chris Benzen, a mooring holder since 2021, told harbor commissioners at a previous meeting. “Not pass the mooring permit onto him, but the joys of fishing. Raise my son right.”
“Raising this 400% [or] 500% — you’re going to have a lot of fall out,” he said. “A lot of people are going to have to get rid of their moorings.”
[Read: Newport Beach Boat Owners Protest Proposed Rent Spike on City Moorings]
Harbor commissioners emphasized that there hasn’t been an increase in offshore mooring rates in years and said it’s time to adjust the rates to better align with the market value of the moorings.
According to the staff presentation, the increases could occur over six different phases — not reaching the full increase until 2029. Those specific details would still need formal approval from the city council before they can go into effect.
However, some residents have also called out a concern with the appraisal that they see as a conflict of interest.
Benzen presented these claims at the last harbor commission meeting, saying there’s a conflict of interest with James (Jim) Netzer — the owner of Netzer & Associates — who completed the mooring appraisal.
Netzer is on the board of directors for the Newport Aquatic Center, a beachfront nonprofit in Newport Harbor that offers rowing, kayaking and paddle boarding rentals. The center also offers boat storage for annual members.
Benzen claimed this role is a conflict of interest that should have been disclosed as part of the appraisal process. In his presentation, he said this involvement prevents Netzer from conducting an independent and objective appraisal.
“Jim says that he doesn’t really have any interest in the parties of the Newport Beach Harbor,” Benzen said. “Yeah, he kind of has some interest here.”
Netzer did not respond to requests from Voice of OC for comment.
After Benzen’s presentation, commissioners held that the appraisal was independent and reasonable. Commissioner Ira Beer said the appraisal’s rates are consistent with rates for similar mooring rentals in Newport Harbor.
“Just take a look at what the real world tells you,” Beer said. “You’re paying $30 to park a boat on the beach in Newport Harbor when you can’t park a car in a parking lot by the beach for $33 a day. What’s reasonable? Ask yourself that.”
The harbor commission is slated to continue discussing mooring rates and make a final recommendation to the city council on April 10. The meeting begins at 5 p.m. at city hall.
After the commission votes on a recommendation, the city council will then discuss and vote on the issue at future meetings before any rate changes are made official.
“The fair market rental rate, based on the information [and] the data we have, we believe is substantially higher than what you’re all paying today,” Beer said. “But we also know it’s not your fault you’ve been paying these lower rates for so many years.”
“So what do we do? We have to uphold the Constitution, the municipal code, we have to do our job and provide a recommendation to the city council that we believe is reasonable,” he said.
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.
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