This month’s meeting of the Dana Point Oversight Advisory Committee opened with Supervisor Foley setting the agenda for the session and sharing an overview of the discussions about slip fee increases. She responded to questions and explained the plan to present the rate options to the committee for input and feedback before issuing notices was thwarted when the Marina sent notices out in April. To avoid future communication failures, the DP Harbor Partners will meet every 2 weeks with CEO Real Estate and Supervisor Foley for progress and planning updates. The County also will hire an appraiser to analyze the slip fee rates and determine a methodology for establishing fair market rate fees based on factors discussed and agreed to by the committee. Christian Gagne, the Dana Point Harbor Oversight Manager for the County of Orange, presented an overview of the public comments submitted that will be responded to in a table on the Supervisor’s home page regarding the slip rate increases announced in May by the Dana Point Harbor Partners. In addition, Mat Miller, Chief Real Estate Officer for the County of Orange, led a discussion regarding the factors that should be considered in a “study” of the Dana Point Harbor Marina to determine what the slip rate “market” is for the harbor. This study is to be used for analyzing future rate increases and whether they should be tiered or uniform across all slip lengths. Supervisor Foley also announced that the $10 million harbor dredging project will begin in late 2024 with a completion in the summer of 2025. 45,000 cubic yards of sand taken out will fortify the Capo Beach shoreline.
Michael Wilson of OC Parks then gave a quick update regarding the ongoing projects by his department in the DPH including; the Sailing and Event Center space planning initiative and re-roof project, a remodel of the Baby Beach picnic shelters scheduled for 2025 and that the County has received approximately $5 million in grant funding to design and implement a plan to secure the hillside above Cove Road. Read the full report here.
The committee requested that the Marina refresh the waitlist and remove duplicate names, and report back on the value of the waitlist deposit fund, how much interest accrued, and that legal staff analyze whether an affordable slip program is allowable and needed.
We encourage residents, Boaters, and concerned community members to join our DPH Oversight Committee’s Public Town Hall on June 21, 2024 at 8:30 am at Coffee Importers. RSVP and submit questions by clicking here.
