Boating Commission Approves $2.3M for SoCal Boating Projects

Byline: Log News Service

Boating Commission Approves $2.3M for SoCal Boating Projects

SACRAMENTO (LOG NEWS SERVICE) — The California Boating and Waterways Commission March 20 approved $2.3 million in funding for boating facility improvements in Southern California.

The projects approved include a $1.9 million loan to the city of Santa Barbara for improvements to Marina 1 at Santa Barbara Harbor and a $400,000 grant to Los Angeles County for improvements to Sailboat Cove Boat Launching Facility on Puddingstone Lake at Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park near San Dimas.

Planned improvements at Santa Barbara include the replacement of Fingers J and K (Phase 5) and the engineering phase of the replacement of Fingers A through K (Phases 5-8) at Marina 1. These improvements are part of the city of Santa Barbara’s Marina 1 Replacement Project — an ongoing eight-phase, nine-year full replacement project of the Marina 1 headwalk and Fingers A through P.

The commission has previously consented to $7.2 million in loans to Santa Barbara, for engineering and construction costs for the main headwalk and Fingers L, M, N, O and P.

According to the California Department of Boating and Waterways (Cal Boating), Santa Barbara Harbor was originally developed in 1927 with a gift to the city of $630,000 from Max Fleishmann, the yeast magnate, in order to protect his 218-foot yacht, Haida. The harbor remained without infrastructure until the 1960s, when Cal Boating began lending the city of Santa Barbara funds to create a small craft harbor and launching facility for recreational boaters, Cal Boating said.

Marina 1 is the largest of Santa Barbara’s four marinas, with 596 slips ranging from 25 to 60 feet in length.

Planned improvements to the launching facility at Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park include demolition of two existing boarding floats, construction of one new boarding float and creation of improved access from parking spaces to the launch ramp.             During its March 20 meeting in Sacramento, the commission also approved a $1.4 million grant to the Army Corps of Engineers for improvements to a launching facility in Mendocino County.

Funding for the grants and loans provided by Cal Boating for recreational boating facility projects is derived from the taxes paid by boaters on the purchase of gasoline for their vessels and the repayment of principal and interest on department-made loans.

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