THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 29, 1994 TAG: 9407290550
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEW BERN LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
A group of North Carolina marina operators on Thursday began to fight a plan by the state to charge a fee for marinas in the state's waters.
A group of about 50 marina owners and managers and other members of the boating community agreed to form a group, Citizens for Water Access, and seek funds to stop the state action, in court if necessary.
Members of the group said the state's plan is ``carelessly thought out'' and will mean economic disaster, particularly for small independent marina operators.
Their concerns were echoed by some members of the state Coastal Resources Commission, which also met in New Bern on Thursday and reviewed the state plan for assessing fees for marinas.
``These requirements will prevent any marinas from being built, so why go through the exercise,'' said J. Timothy Thornton of Elizabeth City, a member of the commission.
A subcommittee of the Council of State, a panel that includes the governor and other top North Carolina officials, is reviewing a plan to levy a fee of 10 cents per square foot of waterway used by marinas.
If approved by the state leaders, the fee schedule and a temporary easement will be used for new marinas while the General Assembly develops a fee schedule that more closely represents the fair market value of the waterways affected by the marina construction.
The proposed fees and easement are a response to two recent legal cases involving marinas on the Chowan River and near Oriental 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.
``What we're trying to do is deal with a situation that was handed to us by the court,'' said Joe Henderson of the state property office in the Department of Administration, which oversees the purchase or lease of state property.
Until now, the state has not charged a fee for marina operators.
The court ruling means plans to build new marinas in North Carolina are in limbo, Henderson said. Affected by the court decision are a 252-slip marina, which is 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.
One legislative panel earlier this month adopted an interim lease agreement that will let these projects and other new marina construction proceed while the state develops a permanent plan for assessing marinas, Henderson said.
Some members of the Coastal Resources Commission said this plan would bring marina construction to a halt because marina owners would be afraid to go ahead with the projects with just a short term lease.
The Council of State is scheduled to review the state's marina policy in Raleigh on Aug. 8. by CNB