Dock Owners Ask Court to Block Fees

A group of Newport Beach residents will head to court next week to stop the city from collecting dock rental fees after passing a controversial rate hike earlier this year.

The residents allege the city's attempt to collect is "deceptive, tricky and dishonest." The Newport Beach Dock Owners Association will appear in court Tuesday to set a date for a hearing to seek a temporary restraining, the group announced Thursday. The residential dock fee hikes, which prompted last year’s boycott of the Christmas boat parade, passed in January, boosting residential dock rents from a flat $100 a year to 52.5 cents per square foot.

The group later filed a lawsuit against the city claiming officials violated the state’s open government law by holding informal meetings on the fees without proper public notice. The city denied the allegations.

City officials said the first round of bills for the new fees, which will be phased in over the next five years, have been mailed out. About 1,200 docks are affected.

Steve Barick, attorney for the Newport Beach Dock Owners Association, said until the Brown Act lawsuit is resolved, it is premature for the city to start collecting the fees.

"We granted the city’s request for extra time to respond to our Brown Act lawsuit – little did we know that we were being set up so they could begin the Dock Tax assessment using the bimonthly utility bill to trigger the tax," Bob McCaffrey, chairman of the dock association, said in a released statement. 

"There is no permit to sign or document to review; the Dock Tax is buried on a bill that that includes a trash recycling fee, water, sewer, and ‘other agency’ charges. It’s deceptive, tricky, and dishonest.”

Once a residential dock owner pays a utility bill that includes the increased dock fee, he or she has agreed to the terms and conditions established by the city, the group's memo said.