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Council directs commission to address boat-length hazards

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Editor’s note: This corrects the headline. The Harbor Commission isn’t looking at the overall size of the boats in the harbor, so much as preventing how far boats stick out in certain areas.

Some boats in Newport Harbor are so large that they protrude into the bay’s channels and impede navigation, according harbor commissioners, and the City Council this week asked them to create a plan to deal with the problem.

Some commissioners have said in the past they want to keep the largest boats, some of which are longer than 125 feet, out of Newport Harbor and regulating their “overhang” could be one way to prevent them from berthing there. But council members said Tuesday that they should focus on the navigation issue and be careful not to make sweeping rules that force many dock owners to move their yachts.

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“We need to make sure we aren’t impinging someone’s individual property rights,” Councilman Keith Curry said.

Mike Reicher

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