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Home My WebLink About03 - Recommendations to Improve Navigation Safety, Allow for Additional Moorings Within the Fields and Mooring Size Exchange Requests - CorrespondenceReceived after Agenda Printed June 13, 2023 Item No. 3 Subject: FW: Request for Consent Calendar NB City Council Meeting June 13, 2023 From: Jim Palmer <0impalmer8088@gmail.com> Sent: June 11, 2023 12:29 PM To: Blom, Noah <NBlom@newportbeachca.gov>; Avery, Brad <bavery@newportbeachca.gov>; Grant, Robyn <rgrant@newportbeachca.gov>; O'Neill, William <woneill@newportbeachca.gov> Cc: Scully, Steve <sscully@newportbeachca.gov>; Blank, Paul <PBlank@newportbeachca.gov>; Nichols, Heather <hnichols@newportbeachca.gov>; Kleiman, Lauren <Ikleiman@newportbeachca.gov>; Stapleton, Joe <itapleton@newportbeachca.gov>; Weigand, Erik <eweigand@newportbeachca.gov> Subject: Request for Consent Calendar NB City Council Meeting June 13, 2023 Honorable Mayor Blom and City Council Members Avery, Grant and O'Neill cc: Councilmembers Kleinman, Stapleton and Weigand, Harbor Commission Chair Scully, Harbormaster Blank, City Attorney Harp The Consent Calendar for the June 13, 2023 City Council meeting includes NBMC Ordinance 2023-8 Mooring Field "C" Navigation, Safety and Optimization Test. While I wholeheartedly support the mooring field test, this email is to request you pull this topic from the Consent Calendar and vote to add one contingency to your approval: Removal of the code change that limits mooring permit transfers to family members only. The phrase "policy related to transferability for existing mooring permit holders remains unchanged" has been consistently stated by ordinance promoters for over a year. While it may be technically accurate that existing permits may be transferred, it avoids addressing the change to the harbor code that states "permitee/transferee qualifications are limited to... immediate family members only." Modifying permit transferee qualifications is a material code change with substantial ramifications. For reference, the attachment provides a comparison of the prior code, the redlined Harbor Commission recommendation and the newly approved NBMC Ordinance 2023-8 Section 3. Perm itee/Transferee Qualifications, showing how the policy related to transferability criteria for existing permit holders changes. I respectfully request you to remove NBMC Ordinance 2023-8 Mooring Field Safety, Navigation and Optimization Test from the Consent Calendar and vote to: approve NNMC 2023-8 contingent upon removal of 17.060.040 Section 3. Permitee/Transferee Qualifications. Item d. Immediate Family. Thank you all for your service to the City of Newport Beach, Sincerely, Jim Palmer Mooring Permit D10 949-433-6512 Addendum and direct requests: I Councilmember O'Neill - I know you to be a self -identified policy wonk and you understand that regardless of good intentions, verbal assurances are of little value when it comes to the written law. The promise of "transferability unchanged" will soon be forgotten and the code, as written, limiting permit transferee qualifications to family members only, will be enforced. Councilmember Avery - You mentioned you "sold" and transferred your family's mooring permit. I believe it is safe to assume that it was not to an immediate family member and you were paid about $1,000 per linear foot. I ask you to allow the same transferee criteria that benefited you to continue for existing permit holders when choosing to no longer hold a mooring permit. Mayor Blom - As a restaurateur, no doubt you are well versed with the private marketplace for CA liquor licences. Rightly or wrongly, for over 75 years there has been a similar private marketplace for mooring permits available to the general public. By comparison, if the state changed the law so that you could only transfer your liquor licenses to an immediate family member, the amount you paid to obtain your licenses would evaporate overnight along with perhaps an aggregated hundreds of millions of dollars paid by liquor licence holders statewide. For mooring permit holders, I estimate the aggregate amount to be about $40 million. For documented support for this claim, please visit the City's Harbor Department/Mooring Permittees website link below, scroll down Mooring Transfers and download the lists of 380 mooring permits transferred to non -family members (out of 556 total) since 2017 in the private marketplace for an aggregated price of $12.4 million. https://www.newportbeachca.gov/government/departments/harbor/mooring-permittees Councilmember Grant - I recognize that you are extremely sharp and not much gets by you. I request you to read the ordinance, vote to pull the item from the Consent Calendar only to vote to approve the test contingent upon removal of the family qualification requirement for permit transferees. This issue is by no means "cherry picking" as City Attorney Harp stated, and changing transferability criteria for a// permit holders is completely unnecessary to conduct the test. Rather I'm calling your attention to a detail that has progressed into ordinance without any open debate of the ramifications of changing 17.060.040 Section 3. Perm itee/Tra nsferee Qualifications. d. Immediate Family altering 75 years of legacy policies and practices. ra Received after Agenda Printed June 13, 2023 Item No. 3 Subject: FW: Title 17 Suggested Minor Clarification From: Admin <mail@ newportmooringassociation.org> Sent: June 13, 2023 8:19 AM To: Dept - City Council<CityCouncil@newportbeachca.gov> Cc: Harbor Commission<HarborCommission@newportbeachca.gov>; NMA Email Board <nmaboard@indigoharbor.com> Subject: Title 17 Suggested Minor Clarification Dear City Council Members, Thank you for taking the time to address some of the public's concerns with aspects of the new changes to Title 17, and some of the changes that the NMA thought might be made clearer or better stated. None of these proposals are intended to change the intent of the City's proposed changes. One clarification addresses the transferability of existing moorings and would only require adding a short sentence, a sentence that is consistent with the stated intent of the code change. This simple addition would help reduce the concerns of current and future permit holders regarding the transfer of existing mooring permits. Background. The current code allows mooring permit holders to transfer their permits to a third party, which may or may not be a family member. The code change creates a new type of mooring permit for moorings created or acquired by the City. The code change refers to permits now in existence as "mooring permits that were issued prior to the date of adoption of the new Ordinance." At the Council Meeting, we were told that nothing has changed with regard to the transferability of the existing permits. Specifically, in response to Mayor Pro Tern O'Neill's insightful question, we were told, in effect, that if an existing permit holder, Mr. Smith, were to transfer his permits a year from now to a stranger, Mr. Jones, then Mr. Jones could then later transfer the same permit to another stranger, Mr. Moore. That statement seemed to satisfy the concerns of members of the public who were present, as well as some of the Council members who had similar questions. Unfortunately, the code, as 353drafted, is very unclear on this point. One of the reasons for the lack of clarity is that when a permit is transferred the new person is given a new document which looks like he or she is receiving a "new permit." The same is true when a second name is added to a permit (the code allows up to two people to be the holders of a permit). After a second name is added, a new document is created with a new date which looks like a "new permit." Years from now there may be a different Harbormaster and new members of the City Council. Future officials may not remember comments made verbally at the Council Meeting last week. Good government should not depend on the memories of what might have been said years before. Also, ninety percent of the mooring permit holders were not present when these remarks were made, and understandably may remain fearful that if they transfer their permit, the person receiving the permit may be receiving a permit issued "after the date of the ordinance change," and therefore the permit holders may believe that they no longer have the right to subsequent transfers. Proposal for Clarification on Transferable Moorings. A simple clarification such as adding the following sentence would eliminate any existing or future confusion: Change 7.60.040 E to read: Mooring Permits are non -transferable, with the exception of mooring permits that were issued prior to the date of adoption of Ordinance No , which shall continue to be transferable unless surrendered or revoked. These transferable permits shall continue to be transferable following a transfer to a third party, adding a second person to the permit, assigning a different location to the mooring, and/or adding new information to the permit such as a description of the vessel assigned to the mooring. [Compare to New Change: - 7.60.040 E. Transfer of Permit: Mooring permits are non -transferable, with the exception of mooring permits that were issued prior to the date of adoption of Ordinance No. which shall be continue to be transferable unless surrendered or revoked.] Reference — May 23, 2023 Council Meeting — Note Hour 2:19:41 to 2:20:13 and hour 2:46:00 to 26:20 - https://newportbeach.granicus.com/player/clip/4186?view id=44&redirect=true&h=cc6a4f7b3dcf0a326d76b6d2f2ad S7a9 Thank you for your time and consideration. The NMA Board of Directors Newport Mooring Association https://newportmooringassociation. org Received after Agenda Printed June 13, 2023 Item No. 3 Mulvey, Jennifer Subject: FW: Please vote YES on our Mooring Field Open Water Initiative From: Bob Olson <bob.olson@rdodevelopment.com> Sent: June 13, 2023 9:16 AM To: Harbor Commission<HarborCommission@newportbeachca.gov>; Dept - City Council <CityCouncil@newportbeachca.gov> Subject: Please vote YES on our Mooring Field Open Water Initiative Dear Harbor Commision and City Council of Newport Beach, Please allow me to submit this email letter in support of our Mooring Field Open Water Initiative. I live at 921 Via Lido Soud and am now rebuilding my home. I previously lived on Balboa Island for 20 years. We are a boating family and my kids have grown up sailing and boating through our harbor since they were old enough to walk. We have a Harbor 20, a 16' boston whaler, a duffy boat, and a 53' Tiara. I am also an avid, but conscientious paddle boarder. It is important for our harbor to re organize our mooring fields for better navigation throughout our harbor. Watching from my home and having my own experience of navigating through the confusing mooring fields as they are makes no sense. During summer season many of the boats in the mooring feild are in the water swimming, only adding to the dangers that can rise when navigating through the waters. Clear paths of travel will make our harbor safer and easier to navigate, especially for the inexperienced boaters. Please vote YES on the Mooring Feild Open Water Initiative. Sincerely, Bob Olson Robert D. Olson 921 Via Lido Soud Newport Beach, CA 92663 Owner Lido House Hotel President RD Olson Development 520 Newport Center Drive Suite 600 Newport Beach, California 92660 O. 949.271.1101 bob.olson@rdodevelopment.com www.rdodevelopment.com www.rdolson.com From: Rieff, Kim To: Mulvey, Jennifer Subject: FW: Mooring changes Date: June 13, 2023 3:12:00 PM From: potenza04@aol.com <potenza04@aol.com> Sent: June 13, 2023 2:35 PM To: Dept - City Council <CityCouncil@newportbeachca.gov> Subject: Mooring changes [EXTERNAL EMAIL] DO NOT CLICK links or attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Please do not adopt this extremely dangerous mooring configuration change, it WILL cause boat and personal damage. You have plenty of clear evidence showing that the plan is a BIG mistake. Sincerely Don Potenza Mooring C-31 Former Licensed Coast Guard Captain From: Rieff, Kim To: Mulvey, Jennifer Subject: FW: Mooring Proposal Changes Date: June 13, 2023 3:12:13 PM From: brian.mayhugh@icloud.com <brian.mayhugh@icloud.com> Sent: June 13, 2023 3:09 PM To: Dept - City Council<CityCouncil@newportbeachca.gov> Subject: Mooring Proposal Changes [EXTERNAL EMAIL] DO FLICK links or attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear City Council Members, As a devoted resident of Newport, an enthusiastic boater, and a mentor to numerous budding seafarers, I am writing to express my opposition to the planned alterations to the harbor moorings. These changes are not only unnecessary but also pose a safety risk. The precedents cited to justify these proposed modifications do not accurately reflect our harbor's specific conditions and characteristics, rendering them inappropriate comparisons. Kind regards, Brian L. Mayhugh 949-230-4905