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Marina Condo Plan Questioned

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On Dec. 18, our (county) supervisors approved the condominium conversion of the Marina (del Rey) properties in spite of the Grand Jury ‘s request for a delay to allow a thorough study of this controversy. Why the rush?

When these properties were advertised for lease for 60 years the rents on the apartments and the boat slips were relatively modest. The boat slip that I’ve occupied since 1964 rented at $1.50 a foot. Now our rent is nearing $7 a foot, a jump of over 450%. The county gets about 50 cents a foot, while the lessee gets $6.50 a foot.

If these properties were put up for lease, based on present earnings, bidders would be able to afford a much larger price, at least 25% compared to the 7% that the lessees have been paying the county. Therefore when these leases would expire at the end of the 60 years, the county would inherit a “gold mine.” Why would the supervisors want to sweeten up the lessees’ pot? Surely this is not good business sense.

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Incidentally, the supervisors are trying to give away property that doesn’t belong to them. The marina belongs to all the people of the county--not to the few lessees. Surely a lawsuit is in order to compel the county supervisors to (serve) the county for the benefit of all the people, not the select few lessees and their supervisors.

EDWARD ROSEN

Marina del Rey

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