Huntington Beach May Put Live-Aboards Ashore

Jeff and Joan Binder reside in Yorba Linda. But on weekends, they live on a 42-foot boat docked in Huntington Harbour, fishing by day and grilling steaks aboard at night.

That lifestyle is now threatened. In an effort to reduce ocean and harbor pollution, Huntington Beach is studying the idea of prohibiting boat owners from staying overnight on their vessels.

This would include weekenders like the Binders as well as many others who call their boats home at various times during the week.

The City Council is expected take up the issue in a few weeks, after the city staff completes a study. Councilman Ralph H. Bauer proposed the idea, saying some overnight boaters are illegally flushing their sewage into the harbor instead of using the pump-out stations connected to sewer lines.

“We have to rely on people’s good will, and I’m sure many do go to pump-out stations. But some do not, and we have no way to check on that,” Bauer said.

There are more than 3,000 boat slips at Huntington Harbour. City law states that boaters are allowed to stay on their vessels as long as 72 hours at a time. Bauer wants to change the rule to prohibit overnight boating. He said it’s impossible to regulate the current rule without having inspectors checking every slip daily.

“It would be a horrendous task” to police the docks, Bauer said. “People have admitted to me that they [violate the 72-hour rule] and live on their boats full time.”

The county’s Health Care Agency said various points of the harbor have been posted for high bacteria levels a total of 240 times this year. But officials said they don’t know how much of the pollution came from boats. The city is now trying to determine whether waste discharge from boats is a significant cause of water pollution.

At Peter’s Landing, boaters were quick to criticize the city’s efforts.

Joanie Seaton, who manages the landing with husband Scott, said the proposal unfairly groups responsible boaters with “a few bad eggs” who do pollute the harbor. “They’re punishing the huge majority of responsible boaters,” she said.

Seaton said there are some people who buy boats, dock them and then never move them. In some cases the owners remove the engines to make more room for their belongings. “It becomes a floating condo,” Seaton said.

Inoperable Boats of Primary Concern

These inoperable boats are of concern because they can’t be moved to a pump-out station to clear their holding tanks. Peter’s Landing doesn’t allow boats that can’t be moved, but boaters admit they do see some elsewhere in the harbor.

“It’s . . . derelict boats that are the problem,” Seaton said.

Bauer’s proposed ban on live-aboards would apply to the vast majority of Huntington Harbour but not a small portion within Seal Beach’s city limits.

Mike Vaughn, an attorney who lives and works aboard a 55-foot motor yacht on the Seal Beach side, said his neighbors in Huntington Beach are getting a bad rap. “We are more concerned about water quality and the environment than the occasional user because we live in it,” he said.

Vaughn, who has lived on a boat for 15 years, says he can’t imagine staying anywhere else. He and his wife, Aki, have outfitted their boat to be as comfortable as any home--complete with a hot tub, a computer work station, satellite television and even a little grass area for their dog.

On their frequent cruises to Santa Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico, “we turn off the phones and turn on the Jacuzzi,” he said.

Binder, whose boat is on the Huntington Beach side, said his family has come to cherish weekends away from sweltering Yorba Linda and takes pains not to pollute their second home in the harbor.

“There’s nothing better than being out there all day, fishing, getting the boat anchored up, taking a hot shower with all the amenities you have at home. [You] go out on one of the deck chairs, have a drink, have a nice dinner and watch the sun go down,” he said.

He and others said there are steps Huntington Beach can take to prevent illegal dumping short of forcing live-aboards out.

“In Avalon, when a boat comes in, the Harbor Patrol comes along and puts dye tablets in their holding tanks,” said Jim Manes, who manages a marina in Dana Point. “If the boater flushes sewage into the harbor, it’s easily spotted.”

But Bauer said more serious action is needed.

The city has been struggling for years with water pollution, including high-bacteria levels that kept many of its beaches off limits two years ago during the summer tourist season.

In addition to the live-aboard ban, Bauer is proposing that the city install more pump-out stations at the harbor, impose severe fines for anyone caught dumping sewage and a ban on inoperable boats.