Marine Institute Expansion Advances
The Orange County Marine Institute has won approval from the Dana Point Planning Commission to move forward with the first phase of a $25-million expansion plan.
The commission voted to award the institute a coastal development permit, which will allow the construction of two buildings next to the institute’s facility in the harbor area.
The buildings, expected to be completed in April, will house the Historic Maritime Center, along with administrative offices, a workshop and an educational center, said Stan Cummings, executive director of the institute.
The institute is moving ahead with expansion plans, even though the Dana Point City Council has deadlocked for months over whether to allow the marine center to convert to a private, nonprofit agency, which institute officials said would expand fund-raising options.
Established in 1977, the marine center is now governed jointly by Rancho Santiago, Coast, North Orange County and Saddleback community college districts as well as the Orange County Board of Education, Orange County government and Dana Point.
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