During the Port of Hood River’s bimonthly meeting, conversation and discussion surrounded the future of boathouses in the Hood River Marina and potential replacement and expansion. Much of the first hour was filled with public comment for and against phasing out boathouses in the marina, visions for future use and development of the Marina, and for the port’s actions and support for local sailing teams.
Hood River/White Salmon High School Sailing coach and marina tenant Erik Hauge thanked the port for their continued support of the sailing club that includes teams from the high schools in Hood River and White Salmon. As a marina owner himself he expressed serious concerns about the risk of marina fires for enclosed structures such as boathouses, and how they would affect the entire marina. The Dalles boathouse fires were a recent example.
Jim Case of Cascade Locks expressed his displeasure with the port. Case claimed the port gave no notice before shutting off water to the boathouses in their response to a discovered potential DEQ violation.
According to waterfront and marina manager Daryl Stafford, talks surrounding the boathouses started last fall when the port notified a tenant that their boathouse posed a threat to the other boathouses and marina docks due to insufficient balancing and risk of sinking. The tenant agreed to demolish the old boathouse. Soon after the tenant provided the port with a blueprint to build a bigger boathouse that included plumbing and a second-floor sundeck.
Upon their request to build a new boathouse, Stafford discovered there were no county codes regarding boathouse regulations for Hood River County. The state has given counties around the state discretion for creating their own set of rules and regulations.
“We realized the leases and our current boathouses are being allowed to do something that’s against the law,” said Stafford in relation to any incoming water supply.
According to a letter sent by Stafford to all boathouse tenants on June 8, the Hood River Marina was non-compliant with the “Oregon State Marine Board (OSMB) Clean Marina Program and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) requirements in regard to the plumbing and wastewater disposal.” The letter stated that the OSMB Clean Marina Program Director Glen Dolphin suggested the port immediately shut off water to the boathouses in order to bring the marina into compliance.
The port issued a notice to all boathouse owners and followed up with a formal request to shut off any incoming water supply. Due to state law that stated if there is a supply of incoming water to the boathouses, an permanent contiguous outgoing connection to a DEQ approved sewer must be available. The Hood River Marina does not have a DEQ approved sewerage system, so a shut off to the water supply to all boathouses was the only way to ensure immediate compliance. Stafford said all tenants have since complied with the port’s request to cut and cap all water pipes and remove plumbing fixtures and toilets/port-a-potties. Working with the DEQ and the OSMB, the port and the tenants avoided a potentially hefty fine by self-reporting their violations and bringing the marina immediately into compliance.
Stafford’s work wasn’t finished because the port quickly needed to create an action plan to either “phaseout” boathouses, invest in improvements, or institute and enforce better standards. The current set of leases expires in 2026, but most boathouse tenants are upset at the prospect of losing their leases. There is no writing in boathouse leases from prohibiting the tenants to sell the boathouse at whatever price they can sell it for, and there is an expectation that the boat slip would carry with the sale. However, marina tenants with just a boat slip who sell their boat are not allowed to transfer their moorage agreement to the boat’s new owners. Several tenants voiced their frustrations saying it is unfair to those with just a boat slip, and that being able to essentially sell a space that is publicly owned is not right.
Port commissioners voted unanimously to give tenants their five-year notice that their leases will not be automatically renewed in 2027. Port commissioners expressed general consensus in phasing out boathouses from the Hood River Marina eventually. Commission President Ben Sheppard suggested offering one-year leases following the expiration of the current agreement, but such action was not formally approved.
“Possible yearly extensions after the existing leases expire has yet to been determined, but what we do know is that current five year leases will not be renewed,” said Stafford.
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