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The Log • Mar. 25 - Apr. 7, 2016 • 21 Huntington Harbour Fuel Dock to reopen April 1 By Parimal M. Rohit


HUNTINGTON BEACH — Imagine being without a gas station near your Huntington Beach residence and hav- ing to navigate to Newport Beach or Long Beach to fill up your tank. Boaters at Huntington Harbour lost their only fuel dock on Oct. 1, 2015 and faced the prospects of not having a local place to fill up for an indefinite amount of time, navigating to stations in Long Beach or Newport Beach har- bors to replenish empty fuel tanks. Those same boaters can now


breathe a sigh of relief as Maxum Petroleum will re-open the Huntington Harbour Fuel Dock on April 1 – exactly six months after Center City Properties, which was operated by the Miller Family Trust, and Nahas Enterprises shut down its fueling oper- ations at Mariner’s Point. Huntington Beach brokered a deal


with Maxum Petroleum in December 2015. “On behalf of the city we are pleased to know the Huntington Harbour fuel dock will reopen to the enjoyment of our local boaters. Our staff and elected officials put in many


hours working with the local residents and Maxum Petroleum to ensure the fuel dock would serve the community for years to come,” said Huntington Beach’s city manager Fred Wilson. “We greatly appreciated Maxum’s commit- ment and desire to serve our residents and boating visitors.” The fuel dock underwent a facelift


after Maxum Properties took over the property; the plans to update the fuel storage tanks and make other improvements during the next three years. Maxum Petroleum representa- tives told city officials in December 2015 the company anticipates invest- ing about $500,000 into upgrading the fuel dock. Huntington Harbour Yacht Club


Commodore John Schmidt said the return of a fuel dock will be welcomed by boaters, local businesses and resi- dents alike. “One needs only imagine living in a


small town quite a distance from the next, and how you would feel if the only gas station were to suddenly close. The fact is both in the boating community as well as on land, we get use to what we have, our mobility, the convenience and comfort level, and to


suddenly lose that can be quite unset- tling,” Schmidt said. “The fact that there didn’t seem to be much we could do about it was over- whelming to say the least.” He added the lack of a fuel dock had a negative eco- nomic impact on the community. “We also had a lack of income into the harbor due to lower boat launches within the area as many residences went elsewhere where there were full accommoda- tions. This created a ripple effect on local business up and down Sunset Beach, not to mention the lost tax rev- enue our city will never regain,” Schmidt said. “How many people are willing to pay the high dollar that our homes on the water can bring when they are unsure of where to fill up their fuel tanks? I have to imagine that this has significantly hurt our property


Newport Beach contemplates future of Mariners Mile, Ardell properties


City officials begin considering proposals for 1.3-mile stretch of Coast Highway.


By Parimal M. Rohit


NEWPORT BEACH — Nearly three months has passed since properties associated with Ardell Investments on Mariners Mile were sold to a real estate investor yet Newport Beach city plan- ners are still unsure how to restore the nautically themed stretch of Coast Highway. City officials hope a revitalized


Mariners Mile would promote several waterfront uses, such as a hotel, visitor- serving retail and restaurants, and mixed-use residential, according to a presentation made to the Newport Beach Harbor Commission on March 9. A city planner who spoke with com- missioners at the meeting said he was unclear how the redevelopment of the Ardell properties and Mariners Mile as a whole would take shape, although any plans would have to be holistic. “I think this is exactly what Newport


Beach needs,” said Harbor Commission Chair David Girling. Three zoning districts define


Mariners Mile: highway-oriented com- mercial corridor, commercial village, and harbor-oriented uses. The recent Ardell sale included two


parcels of land on either side of Coast Highway. The land use zoning of the


two properties are split, according to city staff. Harbor zoning applies to the property alongside the waterfront while the inland parcel is zoned for vil- lage uses. The Newport Beach General Plan


shows the land parcels where Ardell Yacht and Ship Brokers currently exist are zoned for Harbor and Marine- Related Commercial use. A limited amount of housing and mixed-use projects are permitted along the bay- side half of Mariners Mile. The parcel where Silver Seas Yachts


and Sun Country Marine sat is zoned for commercial use. Mariners Mile’s entire stretch of landside parcels is zoned for commercial interests, neigh- borhood-serving retail, mixed-use projects (housing built above retail) and multi-family residential. The city recently solicited vendors to submit proposals of how they would revitalize Mariners Mile. Two proposals were submitted earlier this month; a vendor could be selected by mid-April. “[Newport Beach] is currently


reviewing proposals from qualified firms to develop a Revitalization Master Plan for Mariners Mile that evaluates existing development regula- tions and conditions and makes rec- ommendations to achieving the vision for the corridor and its form and quali- ty,” said Patrick Alford, a city planner. Redevelopment of the stretch of


Coast Highway between Dover Drive and Newport Boulevard has been up


for discussion for years. Newport Beach contemplated transi- tioning Mariners Mile from a boater’s haven to a destination for boutique shops, high- end automotive deal- ers, trendy restaurants and urban-style hous- ing in 2014. A five-day workshop hosted by the city in October 2014 failed to yield any progress of how to redevelop Mariners Mile. “The five-day planning and design


Maxum Petroleum will reopen the Huntington Harbour Fuel Dock on April 1. The company plans to invest about $500,000 into upgrading the fuel dock.


owner’s value during this unknown time.”


Schmidt commended Maxum


Petroleum for coming in and allowing fuel dock services to continue in the harbor.


City staff stated the fuel dock servic- es about 6,000 recreational boaters. The city sold the fuel dock to Maxum Properties for $25,000; the California State Lands Commissions assisted with the sale.


City officials hope a revitalized Mariners Mile would promote several waterfront uses, such as a hotel, visitor-serving retail and restaurants.


eral components to continue the coastal village’s character while also making it a regional destination. Some of those compo- nents include protect- ing view sheds and coastal resources, maintaining proper building scale and massing, offering streetscape amenities, limiting traffic impacts and connecting the bayfront to visitors. Ardell Investments sold its properties for about $72 million in early January; its departure from


charrette tested new ideas to improve the corridor. With public participation and local knowledge, the design teams identified design techniques focusing on improving vehicular flow, the pedestrian experience, and bicycle access,” Alford said. “The recommen- dations developed by the Congress for the New Urbanism are detailed in the final report. The findings of the report and recommendations will be consid- ered as the City continues its planning efforts in Mariners Mile.” The General Plan’s design elements


would require Mariners Mile to have ample parking, a pedestrian prome- nade, water access and views, and see- through elements. Planners hope any developer taking on the redevelop- ment of Mariners Mile maintains sev-


Mariners Mile means at least one major yacht brokerage will no longer exist in Newport Beach’s nautically themed village. Newport Beach’s City Council iden- tified the 1.3-mile stretch of Coast Highway as one of six areas ripe for revitalization. “In 2011 the City Council recog-


nized the need to revitalize Mariners Mile and designated it as one of six ‘revitalization area.’ It is recognized that a multi-layered approach was required to consider the complex issues within Mariners’ Mile,” Alford said. Art galleries, specialty shops, BMW


and Mercedes-Benz dealerships can currently be found on Mariners Mile along with restaurants such as Pizza Nova and The Winery bumping up against boatyards, marinas and yacht brokerages.


Parimal M. Rohit photo


Parimal M. Rohit photo


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