Slip Fees Climbing at Marina del Rey; 234 Spaces Vacant

After its first year of deregulation, Marina del Rey has become the second-most-expensive marina in Southern California.

In some instances, slip fees for small boats have risen as much as 40% this year, making Marina del Rey second only to Newport Beach in cost, according to a report by the Southern California Lease Exchange Committee.

Some boat owners have reacted by leaving, taking their boats to cheaper, city-controlled marinas. The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors reported this month that 234 slips were vacant at Marina del Rey--22 more than last month.

Price Controls Lifted

In 1984 the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a plan that lifted price controls for the marina’s 5,269 boat slips. The plan allowed three 6% fee increases between November, 1984, and January, 1987, when controls were lifted, said Ted Reed, director of the Small Craft Harbor Commission.

Since 1984, average monthly slip fees at Marina del Rey have risen from $6.46 to $9.09 per foot, with some fees reaching $13.50 per foot, according to county Department of Beaches and Harbors reports.

The average boat slip fee in Southern California is $7.22 per foot, according to the Lease Exchange Committee’s survey of marinas from Santa Barbara to San Diego, published last May.

“No doubt, our prices did have some effect (on the increased vacancy rate),” Reed said, “but I’m not ready to recommend to the commission or the county supervisors that we re-establish price controls yet.”

Other Factors

Reed said the economic downturn, the winter season and the availability of more boats that can be carried on trailers are also responsible for the marina’s loss of business.

According to Richard Landon, property manager for the Los Angeles Department of Beaches and Harbors, Marina del Rey is losing some customers to two city-operated marinas in Long Beach and to the new Cabrillo Marina in San Pedro, regulated by the City of Los Angeles.

At least 10 Marina del Rey boat owners have applied for slips at the Long Beach marinas this year, Long Beach Marina Harbor Master Tom King said. “It’s cheaper here.”

Fees for the 2,313 slips in the Long Beach marinas average $6.65 per foot, but a boat owner may wait six months to eight years for a slip, depending on the size of his boat, King said.

Shorter Waiting List

The Cabrillo Marina charges $6.95 per foot for each of its 1,180 slips. Harbor Master Eric Lucas said the waiting list varies from six months to three years, depending on boat size.

Despite the high cost of Marina del Rey’s slips and an increasing vacancy rate, county officials say it is too early to judge the success of the deregulation program.

“We’re too close to the game to decide anything now,” said Mitch Maricich, deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Deane Dana.

“We want to let it run (without price controls) for a full 12 months,” Maricich said. “Hopefully the anchorage operators will see the light. We have to give the free market a chance to work.” For now, the working of the free market is upsetting some boat owners.

“The fees here are extremely excessive,” said boat owner Gerald Winston, who pays $280 a month for his 28-foot slip. “They’re driving people out of the marina.”