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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/10/2006 - Study SessionCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH City Council Minutes Study Session January 10, 2006 — 5:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Council Member Selich, Mayor Pro Tem Rosansky, Mayor Webb, Council Member Ridgeway, Council Member Daigle Absent: Council Member Heffernan, Council Member Nichols 1. CLARIFICATION OF ITEMS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR - None. Council Member Heffernan joined the meeting at 5:06 p.m. 2. HARBOR ISSUES: CHARTER BOATS, COMMERCIAL HARBOR ACTIVITIES PERMITS, AND MORE - POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ABOUT RECENT WORK BY CITY STAFF, HARBOR COMMISSIONERS, AND STAKEHOLDERS REGARDING COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES (SUCH AS CHARTER BOATS) IN NEWPORT HARBOR. (100 -2006] Council Member Nichols joined the meeting at 5:07 p.m. Harbor Resources Director Rossmiller indicated that there are two types of permits, Commercial Harbor Activities Permit (CHAPS) and Marine Charter Permits, and discussed what a CHAPS Permit is and what companies have them. Revenue Manager Everroad reviewed the history and intent of the CHAPs Permit and the Marine Charter Permit, and reviewed the charter revenue generated for 2005, including other tidelands charges. He also displayed the statistics of how many permits are in the City and showed maps of their parking locations. Harbor Resources Supervisor Miller explained that there is a concern with growth, particularly as it relates to parking, tidelands vs. uplands uses, safety, and enforcement. Harbor Resources Supervisor Miller discussed the vessel Endeavor accident that occurred on November 19, 2005. He also discussed Council Policy H -1 that regulates how large a boat can be in the City. City Attorney Clauson noted that the City's policies are enforceable to City employees and not the general public and believed that the City needs to adopt ordinances so it is enforceable and can be citable. She indicated that staff can currently only require large boats to be removed on a complaint basis and deal with the dock permit holder for allowing the boats to moor in violation of the policies. In response to Council Member Daigle's questions, Revenue Manager Everroad reported that no penalties or fines are represented in the fee schedule but pointed out that Harbor Resources fees are all recoverable. Volume 57 - Page 504 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes January 10, 2006 Harbor Resources Supervisor Miller reviewed a noise survey conducted in 2003. He reported that the Harbor Commission would like staff to ensure that permittees are complying with all permit conditions, revise the commercial dock construction standards, revise Chapter 17.10, consider long term leases for charter facilities, review parking requirements, and consider a Citywide limit on passenger capacity. Revenue Manager Everroad reported that the proposed new Chapter 17.10 would consolidate Chapters 5.15 and the current 17.10, and displayed a slide of the ordinance's purpose. Assistant City Manager Kiff indicated that staff believes that the City's fees are not representative of today's fair market value. He referenced the Tidelands Trust (Council Policy F -7) and noted that the policy states that all the properties should be analyzed routinely to determine the fair market value. He indicated that Council can choose to select a non - market rate only after determining the market rate. He discussed the three -tier proposal to evaluate harbor fees. Mr. Kiff indicated that this will be coming before the Finance Committee and Council in the next few weeks. He noted that they want the Harbor Commission's input, but some of them may have a conflict of interest since they do business in the Harbor. Stewart Sitco, one of the Endeavor owners, explained why the accident occurred and reported that they have now installed redundant safety systems. Ralph Rodheim, Harbor Commissioner, stated that the Commission feels that the charter boat industry is a good industry, but they have concerns about safety and the size of vessels. He asked that Council consider the ordinance, particularly as it relates to the docks and the width of the beam. He noted that violators are also private residences. Council Member Ridgeway noted that the size and design of the boat will be led by the depth of the harbor. He agreed with reviewing parking conditions. In response to Council Member Selich's questions, Assistant City Manager Kiff indicated that the study will determine how under market the harbor fees are. Harbor Resources Director Rossmiller indicated that the cost depends on whether the use on the water side is tied to use on land side, and that there are a lot of other variables. He added that they would like to convert the per square footage fee to a lease so it is a percentage of the gross, not the size. City Attorney Clauson clarified that the City can recover permit administration costs, but the City can get fair market value on the value of the tidelands. Council Member Heffernan believed that this is a good start and thanked staff for their effort. Council Member Ridgeway stated that there is no simple answer relative to the costs because there are a lot of variables. He agreed with raising the residential fees and also suggested looking at the passenger tax and charter tax. PUBLIC COMMENTS - None. ADJOURNMENT - 6:05 p.m Volume 57 - Page 505 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes January 10, 2006 The agenda for the Regular Meeting was posted on January 4, 2006, at 2:40 p.m. on the City Hall Bulletin Board located outside of the City of Newport Beach Administration Building. �V� /9/i City Clerk Recording Secretary (2 ( J, Mayor Volume 57 - Page 506