TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute a permit with Beach Ventures, Inc., and all documents necessary for the operation of a vessel mooring program adjacent to the City's beaches, for a ten-year term, with two five-year options at the discretion of the City Manager; and approve the City of Long Beach Mooring Rules and Regulations. (Districts 2,3)
DISCUSSION
The City, through its Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine (PRM), has been working for approximately five years to implement an offshore mooring program. Initially, PRM contemplated implementing and operating the mooring program internally, but decided that utilizing an outside company to install and operate the program would be more prudent. A Request for Proposals (RFP) was developed and advertised, and the City received two responses to the RFP. Beach Ventures, Inc., was determined to be the more responsive of the two companies.
The mooring program proposal has been taken through the permitting process and received a Mitigated Negative Declaration from the Department of Planning and Building, which was certified by the Planning Commission on May 3, 2007. The certification was appealed to the City Council, and City Council denied the appeal on June 19, 2007. The California Coastal Commission approved a Local Development Permit for the mooring program on March 5, 2008.
The majority of the opposition regarding the proposed mooring program centered on the impact the program would have on the City's water quality. The City has worked with Beach Ventures, Inc., and other jurisdictions that operate successful mooring programs in the region, to develop City of Long Beach Mooring Rules and Regulations (Attachment A). These rules and regulations contain environmental protection rules and penalties that are more stringent than any mooring program in the region.
The following are major provisions of the proposed permit:
. Premises: Offshore area of the City, as approved by the Depart...
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