HomeMy WebLinkAbout26 - Grand Canal Shore Mooring RelocationDecember 11, 2001
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA
ITEM NO. 26
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Public Works Department
SUBJECT: GRAND CANAL SHORE MOORING RELOCATION
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Direct Staff to remove the Grand Canal access ladder.
2. Authorize the Harbor Resources Manager to offer the relocation of existing Grand
Canal shore moorings to a more accessible location.
DISCUSSION:
At the November 13, 2001, City Council meeting, Jim Hildreth (102 Grand Canal)
questioned the appropriateness of the ladder on the Grand Canal bulkhead, which
could be used to access the adjacent shore mooring. Mayor Adams requested Staff
investigate this situation and report back to City Council.
The original permit for the use of the shore mooring in question was issued on May 28,
1976, to Jack E. Hildreth. An illegal pier was constructed around February 1999. The
City ordered the removal of the illegal pier shortly after its construction. The pier was
removed by the City in December of 1999. In an effort to improve the access to this
mooring, the City installed the access ladder at the bulkhead shortly after the removal
of the illegal pier.
City Staff, including the Public Works Director and the Building Director, have reviewed
the ladder in question and have determined that it does not meet current public works
standards and building codes for public access. A public access at this location would
require ADA provisions, which would be costly and physically impractical to build. A
private access would not be permitted under the current municipal code. The
differential height between the bulkhead and the sand in the vicinity of the shore
mooring, currently permitted to Mr. Hildreth, is approximately four feet. Typically, shore
moorings of this type on Balboa Island are accessible by stepping over the bulkhead to
the wet sand beach, which is usually a two to three foot difference in grade. Since this
shore mooring is near the end of the canal, it is difficult to keep sand at this location.
These particular shore moorings located at the ends of the Grand Canal have been
problematic due to this sand retention and access issue. At one time, there were four
SUBJECT: Grand Canal Shore Mooring Relocation
December 11, 2001
Page 2
of these types of shore moorings, two at each end of the Grand Canal. Over the years,
two have been abandoned and removed due to the undesirable access.
In an effort to resolve this ongoing issue, Staff recommends that the ladder be removed
and that the City offer to relocate the remaining Grand Canal shore moorings to
locations that have access that is more typical of the existing shore moorings around
Balboa Island. Because the relocated current shore moorings would be in more
desirable locations, they would be more costly. However, Staff proposes that the lower
annual permit costs currently being charged be transferred to the relocated shore
moorings until such time that the existing shore mooring permit is terminated or
changes hands. The new shore moorings would be located in the vicinity of Marine
Avenue approximately one block away. The current holders of these shore mooring
permits would have the option of moving to the new location or remaining at the current
location.
Respectfully submitted,
('--" PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
Stephen G. Badum, Director
Attachment: Ladder photo
February 13, 2001 letter
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
February 13, 2001
Mr. James Hildreth
120 Grand Canal
Newport Beach, CA 92662
Re: RP #801- 00011/MRS #01590
Dear Mr. Hildreth:
This letter responds to the following letters you have sent to the City in recent weeks:
• January 9, 2001 to Mr. Tony Melum
• January 19, 2001 to Ms. Seanne Carney
• January 20, 2001 to Ms. Seanne Carney
• January 27, 2001 to Mr. Glen Everroad
• January 31, 2001 to Mr. Homer Bludau
• February 4, 2001 to Mr. Tony Melum
Each letter has sought information relative to the above permit, other permits and permittees,
and other issues within Grand Canal of which you have an interest. The documents you have
requested - including a database payment history of all Grand Canal billings (about 77 pages)
and a copy of Council Policy H -1 (21 pages) - are available for $0.05 per page plus $1.65 per 5
minutes of service (preparation) time. As such, please remit a check to us for $11.50 and we
will provide these for you. These fees are set within our Master Fee Schedule and are
authorized by the California Public Records Act. You may save a portion of these fees ($1.05)
by accessing the city's website to download the Council Policy - www.cft.newport-
beadi.ca.us/Counci]Policies/H-l.h .
We have also provided a chronology of events related to the shore mooring and, more recently,
your interaction with us. This chronology shows that we have spent an inordinate amount of
time discussing these issues with you. I believe that further discussions or communications
will not be fruitful. Accordingly, I have directed staff to no longer respond to your inquiries
(except to the extent that State law requires us to respond). We intend to focus our attention
on matters of importance to the other Newport Beach residents and business owners.
Sincerely,
HOMER L. BLUDAU
City Manager
City Hall • 3300 Newport Boulevard • Post Office Box 1768 • Newport Beach, California 92659 -1768
cc: Mayor and City Council
Bob Burnham, City Attorney
Dave Kiff, Deputy City Manager
Tony Melum, Director of Harbor Resources
Glen Everroad, Revenue Manager
Mr. Burrell Clawson, 1411 North Bay Front
Attachments:
Chronology
City Council Minutes - July 26,1999
CHRONOLOGY*
May 28,1976 Mr. Jack E. Hildreth applies for Harbor Permit to construct a shore mooring.
June 24,1976 City issues permit to Mr. Jack E. Hildreth for construction of "shore
mooring." Although there is no indication in our file, it is our assumption
that a shore mooring was installed at that location sometime after June 24,
1976 and has been maintained in that location. A review of our aerial
photographs going back to the late 1970s shows that in fact a shore mooring
was in this location. Because the City only administers (for billing purposes)
four (4) shore moorings (each of which are in the Grand Canal), we gave the
mooring an "RP" number (thereby placing it within the billing mechanism
of the residential pier billings). The account has resided there and been paid
since 1976.
1976 to 1999 RP #801 -00011 apparently transferred from Mr. Jack Hildreth to Mr. James
Hildreth. NOTE: Council Policy H -1 (General Provisions for Harbor Permits,
Section C) forbids a transfer of a permit "without the written consent of the
City of Newport Beach." We cannot find a record of the City's written
consent for a transfer of this permit number.
March 1999 City receives complaint from adjoining residents that a pier had been built
in the area of Mr. Jack Hildreth's shore mooring. A review of our files
indicated that no permit for a pier had been issued as required by the
Municipal Code and Council Policy H -1 ( "No person shall build, maintain,"
a pier ... "without first obtaining a written "Harbor Permit' from the
City... "). The only permit on file with the City is and has been for a "shore
mooring" only at the far southwest side of the Grand Canal.
Apri112,1999 City notifies Mr. Hildreth that the pier structure was in violation of Section
17.24 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code and that the City would issue a
warning citation to remove the unpermitted pier.
Apri120,1999 Citation issued -pier remains in place w /no permit application requested.
May 14,1999
Citation issued'- pier remains in place w /no permit application requested.
May 25,1999
Citation issued - pier remains in place w /no permit application requested.
June 4, 1999
Citation issued - pier remains in place w /no permit application requested.
June 11, 1999 Citation issued - pier remains in place w /no permit application requested.
June 24,1999 Citation issued - pier remains in place w /no permit application requested.
July 26, 1999 Staff presents a report to City Council. Report asks Council to hold a
noticed public hearing and, at the conclusion of the hearing, to find that RP
#801 -00011 was issued for a shore mooring only and that any other structure
at this location does not have a valid permit and should be abated and
removed as provided by the Municipal Code. The City Council supports
staff's recommendation unanimously and waives all fines associated with
six citations listed above. See attached minutes.
Nov 9,1999 City sends a notice to you that the City would construct steps down to the
beach to provide access in the area of your shore mooring and that
construction would begin on December 15,1999. We requested that your
unpermitted pier be removed prior to that date. If pier was not removed by
you, we notified you that it would be removed by City forces.
Dec 1999 Stairs built and unpermitted structure removed by City forces.
Nov 22, 2000 Letter sent to Mr. Hildreth by Mr. Bludau and Mr. Burnham. Letter states:
• Mr. Jack Hildreth had a permit to operate a shore mooring only;
• City only issues residential pier permits to fee owner or long -term lessee
of abutting upland property. City's records show that Mr. Jim Hildreth
does not own any waterfront residential property on Balboa Island.
• Hildreth's invoice received indicates that charges are "residential pier
fees." Explains that shore mooring was invoiced as a residential pier
invoice because it was one of only four (4) shore moorings (all on Grand
Canal) "that were not administered by the County. For convenience
only, the City used an existing invoice format - residential pier fees - to
collect fees for these four onshore moorings. However, we intend to
change the invoice you receive to reflect the true nature of the permit
that you have been issued. Nevertheless, the invoice does not confer
any rights to you or reflect the nature of the permit issued to your
predecessor."
• "the City has spent an inordinate amount of time discussing these issues
with you and we do not believe further discussions or communications
are appropriate."
Nov 28, 2000 Mr. Melum asks Revenue Division to correct classification from RP to MRS
per City Manager's 11 -22 -00 letter. Ms. Carney does so.
Jan 9, 2001 Letter sent to Mr. Melum by Mr. Hildreth - asks for "complete payment
history" of RP #801 -00011 ( "southwest end of the Grand Canal ..." near
"1410 South Bay Front"). Asks for "complete payment history of the
Residential Pier located at ... 1411 North Bay Front..."
Jan 18, 2001 Mr. Hildreth comes to Revenue Division counter, asks for payment history
of RP $801 - 00011. Ms. Carney provides payment history to Mr. Hildreth for
period of 1994 through 2000 (all data within current database), includes
previous classification for RP and current data for MRS. Asks Mr. Hildreth
to write to Harbor Resources for information on 1411 North Bay Front.
Jan 19, 2001 Letter sent to Ms. Carney by Mr. Hildreth - asks for payment history of
Harbor Permit for 1976 through 1993. Asks for payment history for 1411
North Bay Front for 1976 through 2000. Asks why Harbor Resources
directed Revenue to change classification from RP to MRS. Notes that "(the
Hildreth Family) will continue to be paying for RP #801 - 00011..." in the
future despite the change to an MRS classification).
Jan 20, 2001 Letter sent to Ms. Carney by Mr. Hildreth - asks again for information about
why Harbor Resources made the classification change from RP to MRS.
Asks for a "complete payment history for all locations on the Grand
Canal..."
Jan 27, 2001 Letter sent to Mr. Everroad by Mr. Hildreth - asks for billing records
associated with RP #801 -00011 from 1976 to 1993. Asks for Revenue
Divisions confirmation of change in permit numbers (est by Hildreth to be
1994). Asks for any Revenue Division files that "concern the name, Jim
Hildreth." Asks for written confirmation that the City Council waived fines
at its July 26,1999 meeting regarding the abatement of the unpermitted
structure.
Jan 31, 2001 Letter sent to Mr. Bludau by Mr. Hildreth - relays interaction with Revenue
Division. Asks again for payment history of Harbor Permit, including
complete payment histories on all of the locations in the Grand Canal. Asks
for "copy of the original" Council Policy H -1. Questions safety of installed
ladder.
Feb 1, 2001 Letter sent to Mr. Hildreth by Mr. Melum - includes payment history from
1994 for 1411 North Bay Front. Includes section of Council Policy H -1.
Feb 4, 2001 Letter sent to Mr. Melum by Mr. Hildreth - asks for information about RP
#151 - 14111 (1411 North Bay Front) and alleges that stairs built by City are
"non- approved, non - compliant, and unsafe..."
Feb 13, 2001 Letter sent to Mr. Hildreth by Mr. Bludau - includes:
• Chronology of events
• Copy of minutes from City Council's July 26,1999 meeting.
Letter suggests that other requested materials - complete database billing
history of all Grand Canal permits + Council Policy H -1 available for
California Public Records Act fees ($0.05 per page plus $1.65 per 5 minutes
of service time). Council Policy H -1 also available on City's website.
* Chronology approximate and reproduced based on City knowledge as of 2 -1341.
4e�
f f
M'4
M
w
m
IV
Qm
O
SO
I
All
9
91
t a lj ;.�
Ab
�f
3
L ;..
la 9
l
5
�•^ Irt. A i�{�.nU 1,
1 Mimi
Tr