NEWPORT BEACH : Council Raises Slip Fees at Balboa Yacht Basin

Despite protests from boat owners, the City Council voted unanimously Monday to raise slip fees at the Balboa Yacht Basin by 18%, the first increase in four years.

City officials say that the current fee--$12.25 per foot per month--is below the average for Newport Harbor, where most of the slip spaces are controlled by Irvine Co.’s California Recreation Co.

At the recommendation of the city’s Marine Department, yacht basin fees will go to $14.50.

Many other slip providers are raising their rates on July 1, said Tony Melum, acting marine director. Based on a survey done last month, he said, fees will then range from $12.50 to $20 per foot per month, with $14.50 being typical.

But boat owner Ron Bauer called the increase “unreasonable and unconscionable in the current economy.”

Others complained that the increase would force some boat owners to move their craft elsewhere.

“My concern is not just for the Balboa basin, it’s for the entire harbor,” said John Sipple, a past president of the Newport Harbor Boat Owners Assn. “In five years, you’ve gone up from $10.75 to what you want to go to now, $14.50.”

City Manager Kevin J. Murphy countered that the city spends $1.5 million a year more than it brings in from tidelands activities and services.

Councilman John C. Cox Jr. added: “You might conclude that we actually did everyone who lives in that basin a favor by not raising the rates in every one of the last four years.”