Long Beach : Boaters’ Pleas Rejected
The City Council and a Superior Court judge have each rejected arguments to halt city eviction proceedings against about 90 boat owners at the ramshackle Our Marina in the Port of Long Beach.
The council and Judge James M. Sutton denied the request of the boat owners’ attorney John Farish to stop imposition of $210-a-day mooring fees beginning Sept. 15 and prohibit the city from seizing vessels and evicting about 30 live-aboard families. Many of the families have limited incomes and say they have nowhere else to live. The port, which purchased the property 16 months ago, wants to build a shipping terminal at the marina site.
Sutton said he could find no legal basis for Farish’s argument that the boat owners should receive relocation benefits. The council said the semi-autonomous Harbor Commission has jurisdiction in the matter.
Farish said he hopes to make his case to that commission on Monday, but port officials have not indicated a willingness to negotiate.
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