County Says Committed to Harbor Revitalization Lease Agreement by June 26 Meeting

By Daniel Ritz

During the Dana Point Harbor Advisory Board (DPHAB) meeting on May 29, County of Orange Chief Real Estate Officer Scott Mayer said that the county and the private development partner, Dana Point Harbor Partners (DPHP), are both committed to reaching a lease agreement concerning the Dana Point Harbor Revitalization in time to present to the County Board of Supervisors for their Tuesday, June 26 meeting.

Mayer has spent the last six months negotiating with DPHP. He described the negotiations as “complex,” and said that they were going as well as could be expected with a project of this scale.

James Lenthall, chairman of the DPHAB and president of the Dana Point Boaters Association, told Mayer that Harbor shareholders were concerned that with the county’s history of tough negotiation, the burden of revenue and investment recovery for DPHP, a private developer partner, would fall onto the Harbor’s users in the form of things such as significant boat slip rate increases.

Mayer said that he could not discuss specifics, but assured Lenthall and the DPHAB that both the county and DPHP have prioritized maintaining the Harbor’s presence as a public amenity.

A master lease could be discussed by the Orange County Board of Supervisors during their upcoming June 26 meeting. If placed in the agenda for approval, the lease would be available to preview by the public prior to the meeting. Hall of Administration at 333 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana. www.ocgov.com.