Marina del Rey : Yamaha Lease Idea Put Off

Concern about foreign investment in the public land at Marina del Rey forced Los Angeles County’s Small Craft Harbor Commission to postpone action Wednesday on the sale of a long-term lease on the Aggie Cal Yacht Center to the American subsidiary of Yamaha Motors.

Yamaha wants to buy the yacht center lease for $5.1 million, but the deal, which involves county-owned land, requires the approval of the commission and the Board of Supervisors.

Commissioner Herbert Strickstein strongly opposed the sale because of concern that the county should not sell public assets to foreign investors.

“This is county property. This is not the same as selling off the ARCO Towers or the Riviera County Club,” Strickstein said in an interview.

“I could not in good conscience approve the sale to a foreign corporation. I think we just have to draw the line.”

With two of the five commissioners absent, a motion by Commissioner Mark Nathanson to approve the sale to Yamaha failed. Final action was postponed until a special meeting of the commission can be called.

Eric Bourdon, assistant director of the Department of Beaches and Harbors, which oversees the marina, said county lawyers have concluded that the county cannot refuse foreign investment in the marina. Bourdon recommended approval of the transaction.

All properties in Marina del Rey, including the yacht center, are on public land with long-term leases. The leases can be bought and sold much like conventional real estate.

The Aggie Cal lease encompasses 7.2 acres of land and water, including 115 boat slips, a boat storage yard, showroom and parking area on Fiji Way.

Yamaha spokesman Phil Dyskow said Aggie Cal would be the company’s first marina in the United States, although Yamaha operates a number of marina facilities in Japan. “We don’t intend to initiate a radical departure from what is going on now with that property,” he said.