Marina Dock Age, September/October 2001

Solutions to Preserve Water Access
by Ron Stone

It is common knowledge that marina developers are hard pressed to compete for desirable water frontage. The high cost of land, real estate taxes, zoning restrictions, and environmental regulations work against them. It’s difficult to compete with hotels, condominiums, restaurants, and retail complexes. Stand-alone marinas are not notable profit-makers, which is ironic when you consider how many mixed use developments include marinas as an added attraction.  

Wet-slip availability has tightened in many parts of the country where the only real growth in marinas has been through expansion of existing facilities, as opposed to new construction. To compound the shortage of wet slips, many small marinas have sold out to non-marine land developers. When rising property taxes, insurance premiums, utility and maintenance costs seriously eroded their profit margin and they could no longer raise slip rates and remain competitive, these marinas found that selling the land was their way out.

Dry storage and innovative land acquisition of abandoned waterfront factories and commercial fishing wharves may be touted as alternatives, but even they are not immune to opposition by environmental protection advocates, resistance from organized private residential property owners, and competition from land developers.

Crisis proportions

Arguably, the incremental loss of valuable waterfront for recreational boat access to non-water-dependent uses over the past several years has reached crisis proportions. The question is whether the crisis can be alleviated by long-term waterfront planning that saves space for boating access. The other non-water dependent uses, such as hotels, restaurants, and condominiums, can survive away from the water. Boating, obviously, cannot.  

Case in point

Recently, the Naples Daily News ran a two-part article about how the acute local facilities shortage, aggravated by state and local environmental restrictions, is threatening the city’s image as a boating mecca.

Unable to find safe, convenient, wet and dry storage in the area, many Naples residents are taking their boats elsewhere. The owners of large yachts are docking them clear across state in Fort Lauderdale, or off-shore in the Bahamas, and have to fly or drive long distances to get to their boat on weekends. Many small-boat owners, who once relied on dry storage, are storing them behind their homes on boat trailers. And, be cause more and more boaters are competing for slips, prices have increased sharply.  

The situation also has worsened at boat ramps. The limited number of parking spaces at public boat ramps is causing monumental back-ups. During peak weekend hours, 30-minute waits to launch and retrieve one's boat, coupled with 30-minute walks back to the car/trailer, are commonplace.

The leading local newspaper submits that city and county officials have been totally negligent in failing to address the boating facilities shortage in long-range community development plans.

A recent public opinion survey by the Daily News offers solutions such as:

• prompt efforts to determine what options remain to ensure that the few remaining sites available for marinas are secured by government action;

• a general relaxation of oppressive regulations and restrictions on existing facilities, as well as the development of waterfront property;

• a dialogue between developers, environmentalists, business community leaders and citizens, placing the common interest above self-interests; and

• a vision statement for the waterfront commercial district to preserve water- and marine-related businesses, and revised. zoning to support that statement. Continue »