Supervisors Postpone Vote on Extending Marina del Rey Lease

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday postponed a scheduled vote on a lease extension for Marina del Rey developer Jona Goldrich, an agreement that was designed to set a pattern for most leases at the county-owned marina.

Supervisors Deane Dana and Mike Antonovich asked for the delay until next Tuesday to give county officials and their consultants time to present arguments in favor of the lease extension and to respond to questions raised about the county’s management of the marina in a three-part series in The Times.

The series, which concluded Tuesday, reported that the county has been leasing marina property for less than fair market value to a small group of developers who operate the harbor’s apartments, hotels, restaurants, boat slips and businesses under long-term agreements. Most leases are for 60 years.

Real estate experts who assisted The Times in its study of the marina criticized the county’s plan to extend Goldrich’s lease on Dolphin Marina, a waterfront complex of apartments and boat slips, until 2062.

During a break in the board meeting, Supervisor Gloria Molina said that after the newspaper stories she is not prepared to vote for the lease extension at this time.

“What it says to me loud and clear is we need to look at this again. Maybe this isn’t such a hot deal,” Molina said. “We’ve got to look at it . . . from our perspective and not what’s good for the developer.”

Most of Molina’s colleagues were more muted in their responses, saying they would wait and see what the county’s outside negotiators, attorneys Richard Riordan and Richard Volpert and economist Allan Kotin, have to say next week.

Supervisor Ed Edelman said he wanted to “get all the facts . . . before I take a position.” He said the leases in the 1960s may have been overly generous to attract developers to the marina. The issue, he said, is how to get the developers to invest in upgrading the facility.

“To do that we’ve got to extend their leases,” he said. “The question is: ‘What terms are fair?’ ”

Dana, whose district includes the marina, said he wants to hear the negotiators’ opinions before voting on the lease extension.

“Are we doing the right thing going forward with the Goldrich lease?” he asked. “We just want to have them stand here . . . and explain why they made the recommendations they did.”

County officials say the lease extension will increase county income by encouraging Goldrich to build 68 luxury apartments and 75 units of housing for the elderly.

Goldrich would also be required to invest $6 million in renovating 204 apartments and to repair or replace 462 boat slips. He could not be reached for comment about the delay in considering the lease extension.

The Times consultants who analyzed the Goldrich deal said they believed that the county was perpetuating its practice of charging less than full value for control of the land. They also said the lease was being extended for so long that it was tantamount to selling the property.

County officials said they will respond to the criticism next week.

Beaches and Harbors Director Ted Reed, who is in charge of the marina’s day-to-day operations, said in an interview that if the supervisors feel it is necessary, “I would welcome a review of the leasing practices and the administration of Marina del Rey by a qualified, unbiased, knowledgeable outside firm that has knowledge of marina operations.”