It is the central gathering place for intelligence,
caring, cash and avarice! Uh oh, we suppose we
shouldn't have mentioned the last two...to be
politically correct.
Well then, let's just talk about Property Values
and the Great American Dock issue...going on right
here in our town! Moorings....what are those?
Commercial Docks...what are those? Piers.....what
are those? Residential Docks...and what are those?
This is truly a funny story of a very popular
location to bring your huge boat and cruise the
harbor. Follow behind tourist boats that broadcast
where the most famous people on earth live. Travel
the byways and elegant restaurant locations..located
right on the water for those ever present sunny days
and fine bills of fare!
Ok, back to what this issue is all about: Can we do
all of the above .... "On the cheap!"? Reality might
suggest that starting with Newport Beach Piers, moving
to Commercial Docks and Moorings....these are all cash
cows for the city. If they don't receive direct lease
or rental...they receive accessibility for those boat
owners that either live here or visit here from afar.
The Balboa Bay Club, The Newport Yacht Club, The Balboa
Corinthian Yacht Club...say all of them..have a tendency
to either avail the premises for their members or for
visiting dignitaries..or just passing through. How about
the American Legion Yacht Club...the last one in America
that totes to Veterans?
Well, this is no new issue. Residential Docks are in
fact Property...much as is a garage or new deck on your
multi-million dollar house. Not everyone in Newport Beach
has a dock in front of their house....believe it or not
and....or believe what the Chamber of Commerce might
encourage us to tell everyone visiting our fair city.
So, after about 50 years of not counting Residential
Docks as property (or keeping the annual rate so low it
is ludicrous)...our "On the Cheap Millionaire Property
Owners" are complaining that they should not be paying
more...for Property taxes just because they have a Dock
in front of their house! Are we kidding here or what?
How many of these docks are being "rented out" on a
yearly or monthly basis? How do we know? Does it even
matter if we were getting a fair market price?
Right now, they pay nothing for taxes with a Residential
Dock and pay the City of Newport Beach $100 bucks a year!
Hey...how can you beat that deal? Currently, we only
have a 30 year wait for available dock or mooring space
in Newport Harbor....(which probably hasn't moved in 20
years!)are these special residents offering up their
empty docks for the waiting demand? Hardly! And if they
are..are they charging $30-$50 dollars a foot to the
sub-lease person for the privilege!
So, what should we do? We have Tidelands; County, City
and Federal that all need tending to. Does our yearly
intake of cash support revenue meet all the necessary
Harbor Patrol activities, expenses and storm damage
or insurance? Might this issue be worthy of serious
inquiry...ya think? Let's get down to it: If you put up
a 70 ft Dock in front of your house...would a logical
person suggest that it increases or decreases the value
of the property? Should OC Tax Assessor Webster Guillory,
turn a blind eye...and just take cash for his re-election
campaign...or might he in fact, do the right thing and
give the home owner a stated revaluation of how much
that was a improvement to his property?
The days of the quarter hair cut are over people. We
actually have a City here now. The days when you could
build out on the beach and put your barbecue unit next
to the water is over! If you have a dock...pay for it
or remove it. Hey, this is still a free country! Do what
you might think is right...maybe even paying the going
rate for having an optional privilege and adding the
$200,000 to your Property Value! Hey, maybe you can
even get Webster to just add that value for the next guy
to buy the property! We doubt it!
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