Panel Backs Japanese Bid for Yacht Center

Rejecting a plea to stop the sale of public assets to foreign investors, Los Angeles County’s Small Craft Harbor Commission on Wednesday endorsed a Japanese bid to buy a long-term lease on a Marina del Rey yacht center for $5.1 million.

The Board of Supervisors still must approve the sale of the Aggie Cal Yacht Center to an American subsidiary of Yamaha Motors. The 7.2-acre property includes 115 boat slips, a boat showroom, a storage area and a parking lot. After emerging from a lengthy closed-door executive session with a county lawyer, the commission voted 4 to 1 in favor of the sale to Yamaha. There was no public debate.

The deal is the latest in a series of foreign investments in the publicly owned marina. Businesses at the marina operate on long-term leases with the county that can be bought and sold much like conventional real estate.

Participants in the meeting said Principal Deputy County Counsel Robert Rodolf told commissioners the county cannot discriminate against foreign investors. Rodolf also argued that the county could be held liable if the transfer was blocked solely because the investor is a foreign corporation.

But Commissioner Herbert Strickstein, a Century City attorney, disagreed. He argued unsuccessfully against the sale in executive session, saying that the county should stand up for principle even if that involved some risk.

“When it comes to publicly owned property, we should draw the line,” Strickstein said in an interview. “We have a valuable asset in the marina. It is public property. It is different than private property. I don’t think we should sell off public assets to foreign corporations.”

Officials of the county Department of Beaches and Harbors urged approval of the deal. The county will receive $14,000 in processing fees on the sale by Aggie Cal owner Marjorie Agajanian, but will not share in the profit because there was no such provision in the original lease signed in 1962.