| Meeting Schedule |
General Membership:
Late March 2009 @ 7:00PM
Guest Speker Will Be Brad Gross, Director, OC DPH
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| LATEST NEWS ARTICLES IN "THE LOG" |
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There are three (3) news articles in the latest issue of "The Log Newspaper" of interest to Dana Point Boaters. |
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1. Dana Point Slip Holders Receive Lowered PI Tax |
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We're not sure exactly where The Log received their info for this article but there are some inaccuracies that Boaters who attended the latest DPBA General Membership meeting on January 22nd heard about first hand. During that meeting, Sean Kelley, President, Director of Operations, DePasquale, Kelley & Co. spent well over an hour explaining the nuances of the OC Tax Appeal Board findings and answering many boater questions. Here are corrections to The Log article:
> Starting in 2008, all boaters in DP Harbor will have lower PI tax bills. Those whose boats are stored on the hard will be seeing approximately 25% reductions. Boaters in slips will be seeing 33-35% reductions. These are estimates subject to Assessor recalculations.
> Since 2008 bills were already mailed long ago, corrected tax bills are now pending. As of Wednesday things were proceeding normally, so look for the good news to arrive in your mail boxes before too long.
> The 2009 bills may be slightly lower still, due to the market assumptions used in Assessor formulas. It's too early to say if these further reductions will be a certainty. (However it is unfortunately a certainty that we won't be seeing those 70% reductions reported elsewhere, including within a previous 'The Log' article.)
> DePasquale, Kelley & Company IS NOT a law firm. It's a tax firm, specializing in real and personal property tax matters. They have 9 offices nationally and their many clients include Dana Point Harbor merchants as well as the Dana Point Boaters Association. Learn more about them on the web at: http://www.dkctax.com |
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2. RBOC Urges Boaters To Help Save "Cal Boating" |
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Boaters who attended the DPBA summer General Membership Meeting will recall 2008 RBOC President Walt Kayak's excellent presentation on the critically important roles of Recreational Boaters of California (RBOC) and California Department of Boating and Waterways (DBW) also known as "Cal Boating".
Well, if you live in a cave and so haven't heard yet, DBW is now under fire due to the state budget crisis and unless something is done it will become part of the state parks and recreation department - a disastrous turn of events for all California boaters, especially those in Dana Point Harbor! Why a disaster? DBW is the only designated source of outside funding for the waterside reconstruction portion of the DP Harbor Revitalization Plan. We won't go into anymore detail here but please read the short article above and then take action! See the RBOC website for action details at: http://www.rboc.org |
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3. Dana Point Boaters Association and Dana Point Harbor NOW! Launch Petition Drives |
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DPBA was not officially interviewed for this 'The Log' article either howver we believe the facts as stated are largely accurate.
Yes, there are two major constituencies who are stakeholders in the Dana Point Harbor redevelopment project, with predictably differing views on the right way to do harbor redevelopment. It seems natural to us that from a commercial, regional visitor serving perspective the current LCPA proposal (now known officially as DPT-MAJ-1-08) would be attractive. Indeed, we boaters also support its overall intent.
But from a boater perspective, there still are some serious issues. Plus there are boater takeaways for the sake of commercial development that need to be worked out. Hence, yes, we too are now circulating a petition. If you haven't already done so, please go online at: http://DanapointBoaters.org/CCCPetition.html, load your contact information and hit the "send" button. It'll only take a couple minutes and we'll do the rest. Frankly, this could not be more important right now from a boaters perspective.
Above said, your Association needs your support in pursuing a two pronged agenda. Yes, we'll continue to work directly with the Coastal Commission and others to make sure Dana Point Boater issues are heard and properly addressed. For example, this past Thursday night your directors had very productive dinner in Dana Point Harbor with Mark Massara, attorney and Sierra Club Director, California Coastal Programs. Mark is a surfer, paddler and a leader in the successful fight to stop the 241 toll road extension going through the San Onofre State Beach state park. Mark is also a supporter of DPBA. But we're also working closely with OC DPH, as well as the harbor merchants, to find ways that all revitalization stakeholders, including boaters, can come away winners. Indeed, your directors have had two lengthy meetings during just this past week with Brad Gross, Director, OC Dana Point Harbor and his staff. We hope and believe that real progress is being made.
Just an early reminder, Brad has agreed to speak at our upcoming General Membership meeting in late March. Please stay tuned for scheduling details. |
| WHAT'S UP AT THE CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION? |
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| On Thursday the CCC Commissioners approved another one year extension to the hearing date for the Dana Point Local Coastal Program Amendment (LCPA). This was a technical requirement to accommodate the planned public hearing scheduled for Ventura in early April. We are advised the preliminary CCC staff report is due anytime. This will be circulated to the official administrators of the Dana Point LCP, the City of Dana Point, as well as the County of Orange, the designated lead government agency, amongst others. The content of this preliminary report (both the number and complexity of issues) will dictate whether the April target date is still viable. |
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DPBA ACTING WITH INTEGRITY AND ETHICS ALWAYS |
About Dana Point Boaters Association
The DPBA is an advocacy group for Dana Point recreational boaters. The organization is open to all families interested in the many different kinds of recreational boating in the harbor from kayaks to large motor cruisers. The organization's goals are to meet or exceed recreational boaters' needs through constructively working with merchants, officials in Dana Pont City Government, various departments within Orange County Government, the ship yard, Yacht Clubs, other associations, California Coastal Commission, California Coastal Coalition, South Coast Water Distinct, California State Legislature, RBOC, SCMA, local clubs and selected experts.
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