Newport Harbor Moorings: Are They Held in the Public Trust or for Private Profit?*

Transfer of Mooring Permits: Private profits are being made from the current procedures used in transferring the mooring permits located on the public tidelands in Newport Harbor. Because the mooring equipment and the vessel currently assigned to that mooring must be sold to the same person, when a vessel on a mooring is sold, the new owner transfers that mooring permit into his or her name, rather than vacating the mooring and allowing the waiting list to proceed in order. Response: Disagrees partially with the finding. The description of the mooring transfer procedure is incorrect and, therefore, the Finding is not accurate. Of the 1,235 individual moorings in Newport Bay, only 25 are located on Tidelands under the County's control; and, only 18 of the 25 moorings are permitted on an annual basis; the other seven are for transient occupancy only. (These 25 moorings are the only individual moorings located on County-controlled Tidelands in Orange County.) The remaining 1,210 moorings in Newport Harbor are located on Tidelands under the City of Newport Beach's control. The County's Tidelands in Newport Harbor were granted in trust to the County by the State in 1919; the County's Ordinance for moorings is consistent with State Tidelands statutes. However, under a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) between the County and City, the responsibilities for the moorings in Newport Harbor are specifically defined; the City provides financial management services and the County, through the Sheriff's Harbor Patrol, provides administration and inspection services. As a consequence, the County administers the City of Newport Beach's Ordinance and implementing procedures regarding mooring permit transfers. There is no requirement in the City's Ordinance that mooring equipment and boats be sold together to the same person. However, the Ordinance subjects all mooring permit transfers to the approval of the City's Harbor Resources Manager. Through that approval authority, the City has established implementing procedures allowing the transfer of the mooring permits if the mooring equipment and the boat are sold to the same person.

Statues and Regulations: The County (1) follows State statutes and regulations concerning mooring and buoy permits and (2) along with the City of Newport Beach shares financial responsibility for funding the Harbor Patrol to provide management services; however, the County performs no oversight of the City's regulations and procedures on a regular basis. Exhibit 2 Response: Disagrees partially with the finding. As noted above, the County, through the Sheriff's Harbor Patrol, administers (under a JPA) both the City and County moorings utilizing the Ordinance and implementing procedures established by the City. This is principally because the County controls only 25 of the 1,235 moorings in the harbor and all the moorings are located within the City. The County does not in general provide oversight of ordinances and procedures of cities within their respective city boundaries. Responses to Recommendations R-1, R-2, R-6, R-8 and R-9