THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 28, 1995 TAG: 9503280250
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Opponents of additional fees for marina operators who build docks over public waterways dominated a meeting Monday of a committee studying the issue.
Most of the speakers at the second session of the State-Owned Submerged Lands Advisory Committee said that imposing fees would be devastating to the marina industry in the state.
But if the panel fails to establish fees for those businesses, future marina projects may face legal challenges before they can be built, according to one environmental lawyer.
``It's a very complicated issue legally,'' said David Farren of the Southern Environmental Law Center in Chapel Hill. ``But the committee would have a heavy legal burden to justify going back to the good-old-days of no easements.''
Farren was one of six people interested in the issue of easements for marinas and other users of public trust waters who were asked to speak at a meeting of the State-Owned Submerged Lands Advisory Committee.
But Farren was outnumbered by marina and pier owners, coastal elected officials and area economic development organizations who said marina operators and the entire coastal economy would be hurt if fees were imposed for marina fees.
Marina operators are ``Struggling to pay for whatever they have to do right now,'' said Mike Bradley, director of the Marine Trades Program of the Small Business Technology Development Center in Wilmington.
Most committee members apparently agree with Bradley because the five proposals being considered by the committee would require no additional fees for the users of submerged lands.
On Monday, the panel began to consider proposals for legislation that would either:
Require no easement for the use of submerged lands by adjacent property owners in the 20 counties covered by the Coastal Area Management Act.
Automatically include an easement for the use of submerged lands as part of waterfront property rights, or:
Require easements for the use of public trust lands that exempt businesses from a fee.
Other options under review by the panel would extend the submerged lands study past the current May 1 deadline and transfer the authority for submerged lands from the Department of Administration to the Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources.
This 20-member study committee - comprised of marina owners, coastal business interests and coastal scientists - is scheduled to report its findings to the General Assembly by May 1. by CNB