[sano]

Public Meeting
Purpose: Boater Kick-off meeting to provide Informational Update for Revitalization Plan.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006
5:30 pm
Ocean Institute at Dana Point Harbor

This meeting is open to all boaters and harbor users... look at the plans! Speak up!!!
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Discussion:

Boating opportunities and boaters will be significantly impacted by the Dana Point Harbor "Revitalization" Plan.

The County of Orange states that as many as 545 slips under 30' CAN be eliminated. (Less slips = more parking for the retail core).

Current trailer parking will be reduced to provide more parking for retail shops (two level parking structure, engineered for a 3rd level).

East cove slipside parking will be eliminated, though a curbside drop off point will be painted so you can drop off your food, ice, tackle, chain, batteries... and then go park north of the new mall. If they do it to the east cove, expect a serious impact on all slip parking in the harbor.

Progress is good, but as the Orange County population increases, demand for boating increases. MORE, not less, opportunities for boating ought to be factored in to the plan. You can eat and shop anywhere, but you can only go boating on the ocean if your boat is in, or enters through, a marina.

 

[jiminoc]

thanks for keeping up with this Sano
I put the date on my calendar and I will be there. I was unable to attend the council meeting last week. How did that turn out? Did you wind up going?

 

[sano]

Forgive my bluntness, but the council meeting was primarily a political exercise in which the politicians involved congratulated one another for their efforts and then rubber stamped the tri-level mall concept.

The councils main concern is expanding retail square footage and providing parking for the retail core expansions. Boating was something the council was, with the exception of Wayne Rayfield, not concerned with, except that they seemed to consider it a hindrance/inconvenience to the "commercial core" expansion. Rayfield, paradoxically, initiated the concern that the 2 level parking structure be engineered for the addition of a 3rd level.

The "Revitalization" of the harbor at the council level was handled in such a way that the overall harbor redevelopment could not be addressed. Only the landside changes in the area from Puerto Place (the street the Dana Point Shipyard is on) to the driveway between the Brig and Marina Inn were allowed to be discussed (reducing the shipyard area, the "boat barn", parking structure engineering, and mall height. The landside changes could not be discussed in the context of the waterside changes, even though the reality is that it is all related.

The majority of public comment consisted of DanaPoint Shipyard reps protesting the forced downsizing of their property, Lantern Bay homeowners protesting the "boatbarn" they would have to look at, and retailers lauding hte expansion, and asking for more parking.

Take paradise, put up a parking lot.

 

[sano]

When the county eventually begins public discussion of the next harbor "revitalization" zone (doubling the size of the hotel and meeting its increased parking/infrastructure demands), the first zone will be called a done deal... so the second zone will have to accomodate the first zone by impacting the 3rd zone, which will then impact the 4th zone, and so on, and so on.

 

[Burndog]

They should take land from Doheny, "put in a parking lot" and ramp, then change the breakwall to buffer a new ramp while allowing better water flow-through since the harbor is also one of the least clean water locations.

I can see this will be a terrible thing for DP private boaters. Who will represent? No one, too many people come from too far to use the ramp and will not know what is going. I live up the hill in the lantern district. How many other locals? Very few and at least not in the numbers to combat the greedy tax revenue seekers that look to expand retail commerce in place of family boaters.

So I should expect to launch in summer after waiting in line, tie up to what(?), drive home, walk back and then head out to sea. This summer you had to disconnect your trailer on many weekends since there was not sufficient parking for vehicles attached to trailers in the current lot.

There is no tie up spots other than a couple rare spots at the Jolly Roger. It may be easier to drive to San Diego. They have 10 or so ramps and don't even charge for launching...

 

[sano]

[No message]

 

[bigeye2k]

I think that it is going to be a big hassel around Dana point for the next few years. It's sad to say but another great harbor is going down the drain.