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DANA POINT, Calif. – Nearly 400 slips at Dana Point harbor would be lost under a preliminary plan to revitalize the docks, the Orange County Register reported in a story on its Web site today.
The decrease of 400 slips would happen because some smaller slips will be converted into larger ones. Some loss of slips also would occur because the county will be updating ADA requirements. About 900 of 1,789 slips in the 30-foot-and-under range could be lost, with the difference made up adding about 500 slips to the 31-foot-and-over slips, the newspaper reported.
The Orange County Harbor Department will meet with boaters tonight to discuss about $50 million in marina improvements that are part of the county’s $120 million harbor revitalization plan.
Right now, the average slip size in the harbor, which is public and is run by taxpayer funds, is 29.85 feet; the county hopes to bring that to a 34.12-foot average, according to the Register.
Officials say demand is in the 30-foot and longer range, which is what 90 percent of those on the waiting list are asking for, according to the director of the Dana Point harbor department, who was quoted in the story.
Owners of smaller boats are worried, however.
If it were a private marina, “they could fill the harbor up overnight with mega yachts and drive all the boaters out and probably yield more money,” boater Bruce Heyman was quoted as saying. “The (small vessel) boaters are going to take it in the chin.”
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