Long Beach Lets Boat Ramp Operator Stay Open for Now

LONG BEACH — An 11th-hour compromise has spared a popular Long Beach boat ramp that city officials had scheduled for closure.

Officials had planned to shut down Hoverworld USA!, the boat rental company operating the launch at the mouth of the Los Angeles River, because they said customers who rent water vehicles repeatedly violated a speed limit in the area.

Owners of the company vowed to ensure that customers are aware of the 5 m.p.h. speed limit along the stretch of water that leads to the city’s outer harbor, where the limit increases to 35 m.p.h. Hoverworld manager Miles Flewitt said new signs will be posted in the area and company workers will remind customers to keep speeds down.

So this week the City Council voted to allow the business to continue operating.

City officials moved to close the ramp during the summer because they have issued more than 40 speeding citations since Hoverworld began renting small powerboats and other recreational watercraft six months ago. The city lowered the speed limit in the area eight years ago after two deaths and numerous recreation-related injuries.

Though the company will be allowed to operate, the council placed additional restrictions on the business.

Hoverworld’s customers will be barred from rinsing off their vehicles at the site, a practice city officials said had been polluting harbor water. Also, facility operators will have to stop using the site for public parking and special events, unless they get permission from the city.