Hopes of Harbor Residents Are Buoyed

Dozens of boaters at Channel Islands Marina have received a reprieve from eviction after county officials agreed to extend the operator’s lease by four months.

All 50 eviction notices recently served to boat-slip renters were rescinded last week and an additional 450 upcoming eviction notices will not be served, said Michael Case, the attorney representing the local family that has operated the marina for 40 years.

“Everybody’s leases are reinstated,” Case said. “We’re meeting with the county in good faith discussion to settle this matter ... so we don’t have to go through with” the evictions.

The Farrell family’s lease with the county now expires Aug. 30.

“The extension had been requested by the Farrells,” said County Counsel Frank Sieh. “The board decided it was worth talking to them some more.”

Negotiations between the Farrells and the county broke down last fall when the county sought to increase its charges.

Under their current contract, the Farrells are required to return the harbor to the way it was when the property was first leased 40 years ago.

One point of contention is that the Farrells believe the county should reimburse them millions of dollars for improvements made to the property over the years. The family said earlier that the county had only offered “salvage prices,” rather than fair market value, for the improvements. Once the contract expires, the Farrells will have 60 days to tear down the docks and buildings.

Eviction notices had to be served in early January to give tenants enough time to move, Case said. The notices left many boat owners frantically looking for places to drop anchor in Southern California’s tight boat-slip rental market. They looked everywhere, they said, and there just wasn’t anywhere to go. This week, they’re breathing a little easier.

“I am ecstatically happy,” said Shawn Tempesta, a 51-year-old nursing supervisor who had no luck finding other live-aboard slips in the county. “We have very competent marina operators and they’ve had a lease here for a long time. I have faith that they’ll resolve their difficulties.”

The Board of Supervisors will discuss the matter in closed session today. Talks with the Farrells will resume once the board gives county attorneys directions about what terms they want to see in a new lease, Sieh said.