Mooring fees could become more affordable in Newport Harbor

NEWPORT BEACH — Moorings could become more affordable in Newport Harbor as City Hall will be crafting a resolution to reduce the mooring fee by about one-third. Newport Beach City Council’s special meeting on June 16 drew a standing room only crowd of about 150 people. Council members spent nearly two hours deliberating several recommendations from the Harbor Commission and directed city staff to draft a proposal where recreational boaters could possibly pay $35 per linear foot — down from the current rate of $55 per linear foot — for an offshore mooring. The council’s recommended offshore mooring fee was higher than the $25 per linear foot rate suggested by the Harbor Commission. A final vote on mooring fees and related issues will be held at a later date. Brad Avery, in one of his final acts as Harbor Commissioner chair, presented to the council a baker’s dozen of the advisory board’s recommendations. The 13 recommendations outlined the results of a series of public workshops held between February and April, where mooring holders and harbor commissioners ironed out specific details of fees, transferability, wait lists, third party rentals and insurance requirements, among other items. Avery told council members he believed the current $55 per...