THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 1, 1994 TAG: 9407010394
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
After months of study, state property officials on Thursday took the first step toward charging future marinas for the use of public waters when they approved a temporary agreement with the builders of three marinas proposed for the state's coast.
Construction of the marinas had been delayed while the officials, members of the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations, debated the proper fee to charge the marina owners.
Affected by the commission's decision are a 252-slip marina to be built by Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Co. on Chocowinity Bay, a tributary of the Pamlico River in Beaufort County, and two marinas proposed for New Hanover County.
The panel members agreed to levy a fee of 10 cents per square foot of waterway used by the marinas while a subcommittee debates a fee schedule that more closely represents the fair market value of the waterways to be affected by their construction.
``It's important to let those three projects go on, and it's important that we develop a proper fee structure,'' said Sen. Beverly Perdue, D-Craven, chair of the subcommittee that will review marina fees over the next year. ``I was very supportive of the action.''
The proposed fees are a response to two recent cases that found that North Carolina had failed to grant easements and charge a fair market value for the use of public trust waters, as state law requires.
Under the agreement adopted by the commission, Weyerhaeuser and the developers of the other two projects will be granted leases for the project with the understanding that the leases can be modified in one to two years to reflect the new fees.
Weyerhaeuser will pay an application fee of $1,196 and $11,957 annually for the marina under the temporary fee of 10 cents per square foot, but that amount will be modified when the new fee schedule is established.
A spokesman for Weyerhaeuser and one environmental group, which initially opposed the 10-cent fee, said the agreement is fair.
``We are please that the state decided to move ahead with a study of the fee schedule,'' said Derb Carter, a lawyer with the Southern Environmental Law Center. The center had opposed the 10-cent fee, saying it did not reflect fair market value for the coastal waters that would be used by marinas.
Weyerhaeuser was given permission by the state Division of Coastal Management to build the marina about five years ago. But work on the project was delayed when a local environmental group filed an appeal - which reached the state Court of Appeals of the division permit.
``It's a very fair action. It gets us over yet another hurdle to use a permit that was granted some time back,'' said Keith Hundley, government affairs director for Weyerhaeuser. ``It's been a long haul.''
The agreements must now be approved by the Council of State, a committee that includes the governor and other top elected officials. by CNB