CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH HARBOR COMMISSION STAFF REPORT

Transcription

1 CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH HARBOR COMMISSION STAFF REPORT Agenda Item No. 2 TO: FROM: SUBJECT: HARBOR COMMISSION Harbor Resources Division (City Manager's Office) Chris Miller, Harbor Resources Supervisor, (949) cmiller@city.newport-beach.ca.us Dock Extensions at 15 th, 19 th and Fernando St. Public Piers ISSUE Harbor Resources has developed preliminary designs to construct dock extensions at the 15 th, 19 th and Fernando Street public piers in order to create more space for dinghy tie-ups. Should the Harbor Commission advise Harbor Resources to proceed to the next steps by developing detailed, engineered drawings and also issuing an Approval in Concept to proceed with the permit process? RECOMMENDATION The Harbor Commission may: 1. Advise Harbor Resources to proceed to the next steps by: a. Developing detailed, engineering drawings that substantially resemble the attached proposals, and; b. Issuing an Approval in Concept to proceed with the permit process. 2. Advise Harbor Resources to further evaluate the current designs then re-submit them to the Commission for consideration at a later date. 3. Advise Harbor Resources to postpone the project indefinitely. DISCUSSION For many years, the Harbor Commission has advocated that public access to the water be expanded to accommodate both the visiting and local vessels in the area. In 2001, the Harbor and Bay Element of the General Plan was adopted and several goals in this document reflect this same desire to provide public access to the harbor. The Problem: Newport Harbor currently has ten public piers: 5 on Balboa Island and 5 the peninsula. Of particular concern are the three piers at 15 th, 19 th and Fernando Streets because

2 Page 2 these piers tend to be the most crowded on a year round basis. In fact, it is not uncommon to see or more dinghies daily at each of these piers which are relatively small (approximately 25 x 20 ) and heavily used by boaters, fishermen and pedestrian traffic. These piers are considered to be overcrowded and do not provide adequate space to satisfy the needs of the hundreds of mooring permittees and visiting vessels. In addition, the dinghies, when tied to the side of the public piers, tend to swing out from the sides of the float and often impede access for larger boats to tie to the bayward-most side of the float. In order to help curtail the overcrowding problem, in 2005 the Harbor Commission approved new time limits on the public piers that help regulate the amount of time a vessel can remain on the various sides of the float. Generally speaking for most of the piers, the bayward side time remained at 20 minutes, while the sides of the piers were changed to 2 hour tie-ups and the landward most side of the piers were changed to 12 hours tie-ups. The City relies on the Harbor Department to enforce these time limits throughout the year. In 2003, Harbor Resources developed a plan to provide racked dinghy storage on several street ends along the peninsula to alleviate the demand placed on our public pier system. Although the concept was approved by the Harbor Commission, it met with some resistance and was ultimately denied by the City Council. PROPOSAL Recognizing that the problem still existed and a solution must be found, Harbor Resources, along with the help from a volunteer task force, developed the following concept to add extensions to the public piers at 15 th, 19 th and Fernando Streets. Careful consideration was given to each location with the help from BlueWater Design Group who specializes in dock design and is intimately familiar with Newport s Design Criteria. 15 th Street When considering this location at 15 th Street (Exhibit 2), we were fortunate to have plenty of room to design a facility that would accommodate more vessels. However, we realized that this beach area is popular for other recreational activities including kayak launching, general beach use, main drop-off and pick-up location for larger boats, swimming and fishing etc To the east of the pier is a residential dock and to the west is a vessel pump out facility currently under construction. With these factors in mind, we decided the best place to position the extensions would be on the east side of the pier. This location provides clear access for the hand launched kayakers on the west side of the pier and also provides an 11 access channel on the east side. This design also has three components: 1 float on the bayward side of the dock, 1 float on the landward side, and another smaller float on the west side of the float. The bayward-most float serves two purposes: 1) It will neatly segregate the dinghies from the other larger vessels that may want to tie up to the bayward side of the public float. 2) It also provides a larger and safer area to side-tie a larger vessel on the bayward side of the float for the allotted 20 minute time frame. As shown, this design will accommodate approximately 16 dinghies.

3 Page 3 This public dock was recently dredged in 2006 and can accommodate these extensions. However, during extreme tides, it is recognized that the landward-most floats may be aground during certain periods of time. The dock design will accommodate these tidal fluctuations but the users may experience some inconvenience. 19 th Street The public pier at 19 th Street (Exhibit 3) also affords ample room to design a dock extension that could accommodate approximately 13 dinghies tied to the backside as shown on the attached plan. This system consists of a single float extending along the bayward face of the pier to a pile located in the water approximately 60 away from the pier. Again, this design serves two purposes: 1) It will neatly segregate the dinghies from the other larger vessels that may want to tie up to the public float. 2) It also provides a larger and safer area to side-tie a larger vessel for the allotted 20 minute time frame. In addition, the smaller dock extension on the west and landward side of the dock will accommodate 2-3 vessels. Dredging will not be a concern at this location because the main dock extension is in deep water. However, the existing pile that we are proposing to use at the end of the dock extension is currently being used as a tide gauge for the City s General Services Department. During our detailed design phase, we will have to work with General Services so that both needs (dock extension and tide gauge) can be satisfied. Fernando Street As depicted in the proposed plan (Exhibit 4), this location proved to be the most challenging because of the relatively small space with which to work in. This site is constrained by a concrete groin on the east side of the property and a residential dock on the west side. When considering options for this dock, we decided the only way to accommodate approximately 20 dinghies would be to install two floats that run parallel to the pier and extend landward. Although this dock has been dredged recently, these extensions will be aground during certain tides throughout the year, rendering some spaces inaccessible. However, the group felt the benefit of providing tie-ups for the majority of the year outweighed this inconvenience. The dock design will accommodate these tidal fluctuations. RULES AND REGULATIONS At the present time, staff has not formulated any rules and regulations concerning these dock extensions, i.e. time limits, size restrictions etc Since this project will require many more months of planning and permit acquisition, staff will return to the Harbor Commission for further insight and recommendations at a later date. FUNDING The City Council has funded this project in the current budget with $140,000 though our Capital Improvement Program (CIP). In addition, this is considered a Public Works project with significant input and guidance from Harbor Resources

4 PUBLIC OUTREACH Page 4 Approximately 950 outreach letters (Exhibit 6) were sent to the surrounding owners, occupants within a radius as well as to the mooring permittees in the adjacent fields of C, F, H, J & K. (see Exhibit 5). As of the publication date of this report, we have only received one phone call from the resident adjacent to the 15 th Street public pier who had concerns about the extensions and the proximity to his dock. Other comments, if submitted before the Harbor Commission meeting, will be discussed during the presentation. This agenda item has been noticed according to the Ralph M. Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the public meetings at which the Harbor Commission considers the item). It was also posted on the City s website. NEXT STEPS As noted above, staff will continue to work with Public Works and create detailed project plans that will be substantially similar to the attached plans. After this process is complete, staff will apply to the state and federal regulatory agencies for permits. Once permits are acquired, the project will continue through the bid process. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The proposed project is categorically exempt from environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines, Section 15303, Class 3 (New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures): Class 3 consists of construction and location of limited numbers of new, small facilities or structures; conversion of existing small structures from one use to another where only minor modifications are made in the exterior of the structure. Prepared by: Chris Miller Harbor Resources Supervisor Attachments: Exhibit 1: Map of 15 th, 19 th and Fernando Street Public Piers Exhibit 2: 15 th Street Proposal Exhibit 3: 19 th Street Proposal Exhibit 4: Fernando Street Proposal Exhibit 5: Area Maps Used for Public Outreach Exhibit 6: Public Outreach Letter

5 Exhibit 1 Page 5 Map of 15 th, 19 th and Fernando Street Public Piers 19 th St. 15 th St. Fernando St.

6 Exhibit 2 Page 6 15 th Street Proposal

7 Exhibit 3 Page 7 19 th Street Proposal Tide Gauge on Existing Pile

8 Exhibit 4 Page 8 Fernando Street Proposal

9 Exhibit 5 Page 9 Area Maps Used for Public Outreach 15 th Street 19 th Street Fernando Street

10 Mooring Areas Page 10

11 Exhibit 6 Page 11 Public Outreach Letter PUBLIC NOTICE March 24, 2008 To: Surrounding Residents and Homeowners Adjacent to the 15 th St. Public Pier The City of Newport Beach Harbor Resources Division is proposing to add extensions to the floats at the 15 th St. public pier in an effort to accommodate the growing demand for dinghy tieups in the area. The conceptual proposal is shown on the back side of this notice. The 15 th St. public pier is primarily used by the off-shore mooring users who require access to their vessels via this dock. This proposal best maximizes the use of the dock given the challenging space constraints. Other details such as time limits and rules for these new docks will not be developed until the project progresses. The City s Harbor Commission has long advocated that improvements be made to increase public access via visitor serving docks in the harbor. This projects helps to partially satisfy this goal. Additionally, the City Council has provided funding for this project in the current budget. The Harbor Commission will be considering this project at their next scheduled meeting. They will be asked to evaluate the design and to advise staff to proceed with detailed plans and an Approval in Concept. This process is necessary before any federal and state permits may be obtained prior to construction. In addition, the public piers at 19 th and Fernando Streets are also being considered for similar projects. Information on these projects can be seen on the City s website: (Click on Projects.) You are invited to attend this meeting to provide any comments (limited to 3 minutes) to the Harbor Commission at: City Hall Council Chambers 3300 Newport Blvd. Wednesday, 6:00 PM A staff report will be available on the Harbor Commission s website by Friday, April ed comments are welcome too. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or should seek clarification on this project. Thank you, Chris Miller Harbor Resources Supervisor cmiller@city.newport-beach.ca.us (949)