DLNR May Increase
Boating Fees Statewide
Bobby
Command, West Hawaii Today
There's an old saying that the definition of a boat is a hole
in the water that you throw your money into.
If the state has its way, that hole is going to get deeper.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) will hold
statewide public hearings to consider proposed amendments relating
to fee increases for recreational mooring rates at state boating
facilities, offshore mooring rates, mooring without permission
and annual user fees for state boating ramps.
For boaters who have a slip at Honokohau Marina, fees would increase
anywhere from 40 percent to 64 percent during the next two years,
depending on if the Legislature chooses to approve a pair of capital
improvement project authorizations. Those with moorings in Kailua
Bay would see their fees triple or quadruple depending on the
fee schedule implemented by the state.
This is the second round of hearings on these proposed rules as
the fee schedule was significantly reduced after the October 2002
hearings.
Including Honokohau and Kailua Bay, there are six locations on
the Big Island where rates are scheduled to increase. Also on
the list are Keauhou, where fees could go up anywhere from 34
to 56 percent, Wailoa in Hilo, where fees may go up 25 to 46 percent,
and north and south Kawaihae, where fees are likely to go up 50
to 75 percent in the commercial harbor and 25 to 46 percent in
the small boat harbor.
The reason for the range of fee changes is an additional across-the-board
mooring fee increase of 8 percent in each of the first two years
of the increase. The extra fees would kick in if the Legislature
approves two new $10 million CIP authorizations using reimbursable
bonds for state boating facility improvements.
A 30-foot vessel in Honokohau, which now pays $85.50 a month,
would pay $120 without the CIP approval, or as much as $140.10
in two years with the CIP approval. At Kailua Bay, fees would
go from $30 a month to $120 a month without the CIP and $131.10
with the CIP.
According to figures provided by the state, similar public facilities
on the mainland are much more expensive. A 30-foot boat moored
at Dana Point Marina in Orange County, Calif. would be assessed
$321 a month. Slips at Long Beach Shoreline Marina are $264 a
month for a 30-foot boat while the city of Des Moines, Wash. charges
almost $160 a month for the same.
Commercial permittee fees were already hiked by Act 126 of the
2005 Legislature. Commercial operators now pay three percent of
their gross revenues derived from the use of the vessel or two
times the moorage fee assessed for a recreational vessel of the
same size, whichever is greater.
Anyone interested may testify about the proposed amendments, either
orally or in writing. Written statements may be submitted at the
public hearing or by Oct. 31 to the Chairperson's Office at Box
621, Honolulu, HI 96809.
A copy of the proposed rule changes will be mailed at no charge
by writing the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation at 333
Queen St., Suite 300, Honolulu, HI 96813, or calling (808) 587-1966,
or by visiting http://www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/dbor/bor_har_amnd_1104.htm.
Big Island meetings will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the
Kealakehe High School cafeteria in Kona and the State Office Building
in Hilo.
