Board Takes Long View on Marina Leases : County government: Supervisors want more revenue from waterfront properties. Gloria Molina warns that adjustments geared to the recession would be a mistake.

Looking for a way to generate more money from Marina del Rey in spite of the recession, Los Angeles County supervisors unanimously agreed this week to instruct their appraisers to consider economic prospects for the next 10 years in recommending new rent levels at the county-owned marina.

Supervisor Gloria Molina warned Tuesday that the county will end up the loser if the next round of rent adjustments is based on today’s depressed economy. “The economy is down, way down,” she said. “If you appraise a property in an economy like this, you can’t really expect it to be a true appraisal of what’s going to happen in the future.”

The marina is owned by the county and businesses operate there through long-term leases. Those leases call for the county to adjust the rent charged developers of the marina’s hotels, restaurants, apartments, offices, boat slips and shops every 10 years. A large group of the leases is scheduled for a rent adjustment in the coming year.

Molina insisted that a way be found to ensure that the county receives maximum revenue from marina properties. “Otherwise,” she said, “those people with those unbelievable leases at Marina del Rey get another windfall from us.”

An investigation by The Times published in April found that the county has been leasing prime waterfront properties in the marina for less than fair market value to a small group of leaseholders, many of whom are contributors to supervisors’ campaigns.

Molina raised the issue as the supervisors were considering the latest in a series of contracts with outside appraisers. Their findings will be used along with the recommendations from the leaseholders’ own appraisers to determine what the fair market rent should be on 16 marina properties. The appraisal work will cost the county $293,300.

During discussion of the contracts, Molina was sharply critical of Beaches and Harbors director Ted Reed, who oversees the publicly owned marina. She told Reed, “It’s not a smart thing” to “appraise in Marina del Rey on today’s economy for the next 10 years.”

Noting that the financially strapped county urgently needs money for health care programs, Molina admonished Reed: “Your job is to help us make money there.”

The marina is one of the county’s only sources of non-tax revenues with no strings attached.

Carole Stevens, Molina’s appointee on the county Small Craft Harbor Commission, which advises the supervisors on marina matters, echoed Molina’s concerns. It is essential, she said, that appraisers be given strong direction to “prevent a gross injustice to the county and its taxpayers.”

County Chief Administrative Officer Richard Dixon told the board that it would be appropriate for the supervisors to include explicit direction in the contracts that the appraisers consider the cyclical nature of economy in the appraisal process.

The board agreed that such a provision should be added, although the precise language must still be drafted. The supervisors also asked their economic and legal consultants to brief them on the rent renegotiation issue.

Reed later said in an interview that the appraisals will take into account a variety of factors, including what is happening in the area surrounding the marina and other waterfront communities along the coast.

Reed said he expects the county to receive an increased share of the receipts from boat slips in the marina. But he cautioned against looking for large increases in the county’s share of apartment receipts. “I’d like to see them edge up some,” he said.

Under current leases, the county rent is a percentage of the gross receipts collected by marina developers--generally 10.5% of the gross on apartments and 25% on boat slips.

Although the recession has caused vacancy rates for apartments and boat slips to rise, Reed expressed confidence that the appraisals will “demonstrate that the marina is still a place where people are willing to come to live and pay for the amenities.”

The appraisals will be conducted on Tahiti Marina, Villa Venetia, Del Rey Shores, Oakwood Garden Apartments, Admiralty Apartments, Marina City Club, Neptune Marina, Bar Harbour, Kingswood Marina, Del Rey Yacht Club, Catalina Yacht Club, Yamaha Marina, the Marina del Rey Hotel, Pier 44, the Century Bank Building and a Southern California Edison substation.