Long Beach boaters struggle with pay parking plan for Alamitos Bay Marina lots – Orange County Register

A consultant’s proposal for the addition of paid parking in areas adjacent to part of the Alamitos Bay Marina that houses the Long Beach Marina Boat Owners Association and Seal Beach Yacht Club participation.

Recommendations from Walker Parking Consultants were the subject of last week’s Maritime Advisory Committee meeting. Both the yacht club and the boat owners’ association presented objections to the proposed plan. They argue that boat owners already pay for parking through the sliding fee and will be able to let guests and suburban boatmen park for free.

Parking in the parking lots between Marina Drive and the pier in Alamitos Bay became a concern starting in 2018 with the addition of the Ballast Point restaurant/brewery in Alamitos Bay Landing, and is getting worse by the day. than the 2ND & PCH retail center opposite Basin One. The opening of the San Pedro Fish Market also adds to the need for parking.

The city contracted Walker Parking Consultants in August 2019 to conduct a research and develop a parking plan for the properties. There are approximately 2,654 parking spots in front of the three marina basins and within the self-contained grounds at Alamitos Bay Landing. There are approximately 1,295 boat skids in the three basins, plus the West Marine/Schooner or Later complex (which is also home to the Seal Beach Yacht Club), the independent restaurants Crab Pot and the San Pedro Fish Market, the Alamitos Bay Landing’s central commercial and yachting business, which includes three large restaurants and several retail businesses.

“Parking usage and dynamics have been altered due to newly created parking demand and the presence of paid parking at, 2nd & PCH,” the report said. “This leads to concern that without parking management at ABM, beach access would be reduced due to the use of ABM parking facilities by 2nd & PCH customers.”

There are owner-specific berths in all three watersheds, and city boat rentals include one or two dedicated berths. Walker reports that there are currently 753 seats available to boat owners.

Walker’s plan would create short-term and long-term parking for boat owners, for which boat owners could purchase permits, then add metered parking to the rest of the space. Metered parking, which could potentially include areas for long-term parking to accommodate employees, could increase revenue and add accessibility, the report said.

But at last week’s meeting, on Thursday, January 13, boat owners’ representatives raised issues of fairness that deserve more study, according to Tom Mayes, a member of the Maritime Advisory Committee. and is the president of the Long Beach Marina Boat Owners Association.

“We formed a subcommittee to study the (parking) report,” Mayes said. “They’ve brought us well-researched and compelling information – enough that we’re extending the subcommittee’s work for another two weeks.”

A presentation from the boat owners group indicated that regulations say no less than 0.75 berths should be maintained per boat – the Walker report recommends 0.50. The LBMOA adds other contractual obligations to commercial businesses, and most, if not all, space is taken into account.

There are also three smaller regional yacht clubs under consideration – Seal Beach Yacht Club, Navy Yacht Club and Little Ships Yacht Club. According to the Seal Beach Yacht Club presentation, adding paid parking would hamper those clubs, making it difficult to survive, let alone continue to host events.

SLBYC has a lease on the premises until 2029 in the Marine Bazaar Building (which also houses the Schooner Or Later), said member Joan Palango. The lease includes free parking at 241 spaces around the building. Those spaces are not reserved, but demanding payment would be a breach of the lease, the presentation said.

SLBYC organizes 30 to 36 races per year, depending on the revenue of part of the operating budget. Events can take up to 100 parking spaces between three and eight hours, and sometimes overnight for two-day events. In addition, 61% of club members do not own boats, hence no Alamitos Bay Marina parking permits; they rely instead on club parking rights.

The LBMBOA presentation highlighted that previous decisions by the California Coastal Commission have emphasized commercial fishing and recreational boating in preference to commercial use. But the Walker report says the paid parking scheme will increase public access to the waterfront – another guiding principle of the Coastal Commission.

The changes cannot take place without the approval of the Long Beach City Council (as it would be a change to the city’s Local Coastal Plan) and the state’s Coastal Commission. The Maritime Advisory Committee is expected to make its recommendations at its January 27 meeting. That meeting, conducted as a teleconference, begins at 2:30 p.m.

Information: longbeach.legistar.com/.