Raising fees to protect tidelands OK

Sometimes, bureaucrats listen.

Sometimes, they get it.

Take the Newport Beach City Council.

In May, an Orange County Grand Jury report criticized the city for the way it handled its mooring permits. The city, it turns out, is charging less-than-fair-market rate for the permits.

Consider the consequence: In some instances, homeowners with docks are paying the city a $97-per-year permit fee, then charging several thousand dollars per year to rent the docks to boat owners.

That’s not right. Especially when you consider that the money from mooring fees goes into a fund that pays for services that benefit the public — beach maintenance, lifeguard salaries and dredging, for instance.

Don’t get us wrong. In general, we’re skeptical about government fee hikes. But in this case, we believe it’s appropriate that the city raise permit fees in order to more fully fund the upkeep and improvement of the tidelands.

What are tidelands? They’re lands along the coast that may be submerged at high tide or were once underwater, but through human interference have been made into dry land.

For a coastal city such as Newport Beach, they’re a public treasure.

Which brings us back to bureaucrats — in this case, the kind who listen. (We should note that we criticized Newport Beach officials for stalling on raising fees in the wake of the grand jury report.)

The Newport Beach City Council on Monday agreed to raise the fees. In the next few months, officials will consider how much to raise fees or charge for leases of tideland amenities such as moorings, residential docks and commercial piers.

Whatever the hike, it will bring those fees in line with market rates, and that’s the way it should be.

Further, we hope to see, with increased funding, improvements to tidelands, and will be keeping an eye on that in future months.

Good for Newport Beach city officials for moving in that direction.