Your Board of Directors has been dialoguing with OC DPH about what happened over the 4th of July weekend from a parking standpoint here in Dana Point Harbor.  As we reported before the holiday, OC DPH has been listening to boater concerns about parking and took measures this year that should have helped.  For example, the parking allotment in the East Basin Cove "dedicated boater parking for Catalina Flyer customers was reduced by 50 percent.  But frankly these improvements didn't work.  In fact the opposite.

One thing which really didn't work (a root cause?) was having attendants at the parking lot entrances.  We pointed out that they were letting anyone/everyone in!  Quoting Brad Gross, OC DPH Director, "Well guys, when you're right you're right.  I say this because I was all through the Harbor on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and I had to brief the attendant at the gate each day.  I am not sure what the disconnect was, but there was a disconnect."  Brad went on to say that he and Operations Manager Paul Lawrence had already met to figure out what else went wrong and to build the file to make sure that the next holiday weekend is better.  An aside, DPBA has suggested that the Dana Hills High School lot be employed for overflow parking and for Catalina Express customers.  Perhaps similar to other Dana Point events such as the annual homes tour.  Next week we will be meeting with the City of Dana Point and this topic will be on our agenda.

KOCE investigative reporter Dave Nazar was in the harbor for about 2½ hours last Thursday afternoon recording consecutive interviews with Doug Chotkevys, Dana Point City Manager, Brad Gross, OC DPH, Jim Miller, President of the Harbor Merchants Association and our Rodger Beard, President of the Dana Point Boaters Association.  The topic was harbor revitalization.  We haven't yet seen what will be the major topic on the Real Orange telecasts tonight at 6:30 PM and 11:00 PM, with repeats overnight and Friday morning.  But we are confident it will be interesting viewing for boaters.  Be sure to watch!

Last Friday afternoon, two Dana Point Boaters Association directors met with Pacific West, the developers selected by the South Coast Water District (SCWD) for the proposed Marine Services Center on their property on the San Juan Creek channel.  We had the opportunity to review the preliminary plans in detail, ask a lot of questions and most importantly, provide input on boater interests and needs.  It was clear the developers have a boater focus, indeed one lives in San Clemente and has his boat in San Diego while waiting for his name to come up here in Dana Point.  Anyway, a very productive session overall.  We'll have an update on the status of this project in a few weeks.

During the last Boater Focus Group meeting on June 22nd, a lot more boaters attended and the discussion was very constructive.  A new Harbor configuration alternative, branded 3.5N was discussed (click here to view) which the group felt was a strong step in the right direction.  One example, the number of slips to be lost in this alternative is 254, a far cry from the 477 slips called out in the LCPA which is before the Coastal Commission.

The DPBA was tasked by the group with meeting with OC DPH to evaluate harbor slip count feedback from boaters (the spreadsheets we requested in our previous boater blast) and to come back to the next meeting with recommendations.  Today three Dana Point Boaters Association directors met with OCDPH as planned for about two hours to accomplish these tasks.

As most already realize, we must make a small reduction in the number of slips due to harbor design guidelines, such ADA in force now that were not in force when the harbor was originally designed back in the 1960s.  The #1 question is of course: how many slips beyond that should we lose to accommodate some larger slips within a slightly larger harbor footprint?  Please make plans now come to the next Boater Focus Group to learn what we have worked out as the recommendation for serious consideration by the group.

The next meeting is coming up next Wednesday, July 22nd at 6:00 PM at the Sailing and Events Center, in the rear building (closest to the channel).

Questions should be directed by email to Rodger Beard, President (RodgerBeard@DanaPointBoaters.org).  Or call us at (949) 485-5656 and leave a voice mail and we'll get back to you soon.