NEWPORT BEACH—Several news outlets picked up the story about Orange County Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol (OCSD) and Lt. Christopher Corn’s decision to limit dock access from 72 hours to 20 minutes. Corn has defended his decision, stating one of the main reasons for the change was to deter boaters from...
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Here’s the scoop: The OC Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol works out of a station in Newport that sits on OC Parks Property. The docks there belong to OC Parks. The Harbor Patrol had no lawful authority to make public access changes at the OC Parks facility. Only the Director of OC Parks has the authority. They violated the law. The Harbor Patrol funding comes from OC Parks and Tidelands funds. They are funded to be helpful to the public (like Park Rangers) not to stiff the public out of dock access. This is not Theo Lacy Jail, this is Newport Harbor. The harbor patrol management made a mistake by stripping public access and now they are trying to cram it through as in “keep on moving along, nothing to see here..”. Well, there is much to see here. Such as the same officer that closed the public docks in Newport also births his private yacht in the guest slips there quite frequently. Yep, the same guy that permitted “keep out” signs on every guest slip (which effectively deters public access) manages to squeeze his yacht into one of the three remaining guest slips quite frequently. Pretty convenient. It seems the closing of public docks has been designed to make the Harbor Patrol Deputies comfortable at the Newport facility as they have little interest in interacting with the public. Keep in mind, they have closed their visitor/customer service dock. They are the only harbor patrol operation I know of that doesn’t have a customer service dock. It is very disheartening that the Sheriff himself can’t see through the issues and do the right thing. How about they immediately correct all the violations, restore public access and post conspicuous “Guest Slip Here” signs? Oh, but then the public would use the guest slips and the Harbor Patrol management wouldn’t have anywhere to dock their private yacht.
Disheartened Boater, you realize that the Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol has been conducting ALL law enforcement operations, firefighting, lifesaving AND managing the County docks in Newport since 1977!! Yes, that is 45 YEARS! The Director’s authority can be delegated to another person, which it was 45 years ago. You obviously have not done your homework and read the actual Orange County Codified Ordinances (OCCO). If you did you would know that.