Council Bans Boat Storage on Beaches at Mission Bay

The San Diego City Council on Monday unanimously approved a law forbidding the permanent storage of boats on Mission Bay Park beaches, saying the proliferation of catamarans and sailboats restricts public use of the areas and creates an eyesore.

Under the ordinance, the city can impound without notice any boats left overnight on beaches at Mariners’ Basin, Santa Barbara Cove and San Juan Cove, except on Friday and Saturday nights and on nights before city holidays. According to city statistics, more than 100 catamarans and small sailboats, 17% of them registered to out-of-state residents, are left on the beaches on a permanent basis.

“I know this is controversial,” Councilman Mike Gotch said. “But in the name of equity, those beaches should be opened to all of the people. They can’t get in there because so many boats are cluttering up the area, and the situation also has made it impossible for city crews to clean up the beaches. It’s time to open the beaches back up to the public.”

Sue Williams, deputy city manager, said in an earlier report to the council that the ordinance would reopen “large, open expanses of beach that will be free from obstructions.”

Acting Deputy City Manager Jack McGrory said the problem began along the western shoreline of Mission Bay Park in the mid-1970s, as catamarans, which are launched from the beach, grew in popularity. “The convenience (to owners) outweighs the disadvantage of leaving their property unattended,” he said.

The ordinance had the support of most boat owners who addressed the council, including Bill Tilger, a spokesman for the local Hobey Cat club. Charles Grim, a resident of Pacific Beach since 1948 who said he goes boating on Mission Bay about twice a week, said the proliferation of boats on the beaches “has created a messy situation down there. Many of them are in very bad condition and not currently registered,” he said. “In many cases, the boats are never used at all--they have been abandoned there.”

Another speaker, Robert Aterbury, said, “the boats not only have created an eyesore, but have made it very difficult to ski, because there isn’t enough room on the beaches (to begin water skiing).”

The handful of opponents said restricting storage of the boats on the beaches would cause traffic problems in the area and severely restrict the number of boaters able to use the bay. “Right now, there are parking spaces for about 10 trailers,” said James Vahjen. “That’s a real shortage. The city has gone too far, and we’re going to end up in a situation where after the first 10 trailers get parking spaces, nobody else will be able to sail.”

Gotch acknowledged that the law might seem too restrictive. “So many things are legal down at the beach simply because we have not passed ordinances to deal with problems like these,” he said.

“Beach people don’t like these kinds of freedoms taken away from them, but we’ve got to think about what’s best for the greatest number of people.”