Extension of lease may be last one

June Casagrande

The routine extension of the lease for Marinapark residents may be

a significant turning point as discussion turns toward ultimately

closing the park.

Council members on Tuesday voted unanimously to extend for

one-year the lease for residents of 56 mobile homes at the city-owned

site. It is essentially the same agreement the council reached a year

ago.

What is different is that, at the request of City Councilman Gary

Proctor, council members will take a closer look in an upcoming study

session at closing the mobile home park to make way for a luxury

resort proposed to be developed at the site.

“It’s probably a good idea to put it into a study session,” City

Attorney Bob Burnham said.

Though the residents’ agreement with the city includes a provision

that they might one day be asked to leave, removing them could be

legally tricky. In a reversal of their previous position, city

officials on Tuesday decided that they won’t write off the

possibility of relocation assistance for the residents, even though

they say that the residents were compensated in advance for their

relocation costs in the form of reduced rents. Details of whether and

how to help pay for relocation might be a topic of the study session.

Another likely topic: the delicate subject of whether the land

qualifies as tidelands. The State Lands Commission designates some

coastal areas as tidelands and regulates their use.

Specifically, tidelands are not supposed to be the site of private

residences. But, as City Councilman Dick Nichols pointed out at

Tuesday’s council meeting, exceptions exist, notably the Balboa Bay

Club.

City officials have been waiting for more than three years for the

State Lands Commission to rule on whether all or part of the

Marinapark property is categorized as tidelands.

Staff members of the state commission have said that they believe

the area is partly tidelands, but it’s unclear how or when

commissioners will rule, Burnham said.

A date for the study session item has not yet been set.

City officials have an exclusive agreement with developer

Sutherland Talla to build on the site a project that they believe

would benefit the city. The company on Monday formally filed its

plans for a 110-room luxury resort there.

The city’s deal with the developer leaves it up to the city’s

discretion if and when they would remove residents to make way for

the resort.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

[email protected].