plus S3 for ev en' linear foot of boat 

 slips. 



Farren says that unlike North Caro- 

 lina, most other states don*t require a 

 fair market compensation for use of 

 public waters. 



The fee will be revisited along with 

 other questions. Henderson says, such as 

 whether new and existing marinas 

 should pay and how the proceeds should 

 be spent. 



"It's an interim proposal because 

 we realize the sensitivity of the whole 

 issue." he says. "It's something the Leg- 

 islature will probably want to study in 

 greater detail and at greater length." 



Private Property Rights 

 vs. Public Trust Rights 



When marina operators pay com- 

 pensation, env ironmentalists say, states 

 benefit in several ways. 



First, the number of marinas is 

 better controlled. Coastal ecosystems 

 have deteriorated as more people have 

 moved to the shore. Meanwhile, regula- 

 tor)' agencies have continued to permit 

 marinas and other docks. Easements 

 will better account for state waters that 

 are covered by marinas. 



North Carolina has 

 more public trust waters 



than most states, 

 and competing demands 

 to use them are 

 rising like high tide 

 on a full moon. 



Also, the fees might pay for mitiga- 

 tion programs to repair damage from 

 development, increase public access, 

 enhance habitat and acquire wetlands. 

 But as the law is written now. the 

 money raised by private uses of sub- 

 merged lands goes to the state literary 

 fund, which helps to build schools and 

 pay teachers. 



"At least a portion of profits from 

 the use of public land should be returned 

 to the public." Farren says. 



On the other hand, there are draw- 

 backs to charging compensation, says 

 C.C. Harness, a former S.C. Coastal 

 Council attorney who labored with the 



same issues south of the border. "When 

 people start to pay for or lease public 

 bottomlands, they start to believe that 

 they own these areas, and they don't." 



In North Carolina, the Department 

 of Env ironment. Health and Natural 

 Resources is guarding against these fees 

 being seen as a substitute for careful 

 review of proposed marinas under the 

 statutes it administers, says Richard 

 Whisnant. DEHNR general counsel. 



"No matter how much someone is 

 willing to pay. some projects may not 

 meet the development standards and 

 should not be permitted in the first 

 place," he says. 



Marina fees have recently gained 

 support from some influential North 

 Carolinians. The News & Observer in 

 Raleigh noted in a June 1993 editorial. 

 "If a (boat) slip can sell for $30,000. 

 paying the state S3. 000 for the right to 

 build it and several hundred dollars a 

 year thereafter for its use should pose no 

 problem for either builder or buyer." 



Others see financial and environ- 

 mental restrictions on new marinas as an 

 obstruction of economic growth. 



When a marina can be an economic 

 asset to a community, it should not be 

 discouraged by government fees, argues 



Monroe Bell, developer of the proposed 

 Black Rock marina. 



"In economically depressed rural 

 areas of eastern North Carolina, a ma- 

 rina would provide jobs in construction, 

 maintenance and administration of the 

 facility." Bell says. "A marina would 

 provide access for the boating public, 

 increase the tax base and infuse the local 

 economy with dollars. Today, a demand 

 exists for boating facilities, and govern- 

 ment should encourage the placement of 

 marinas until this demand is satisfied." 



The same story could be heard in 

 just about any marina you pull into. 



At Wrightsville Beach. Atlantic 

 Marine owner Gene Floyd says a charge 

 for bottomlands would be a drain on 

 North Carolina marinas. His marina 

 keeps 500 boats in dry storage with a 

 350-foot waterfront for loading and 

 mooring. 



"We have a small area of the water 

 that we cover, but for the state to come 

 and charge us for that bottomland, it 

 would work a hardship on us." Floyd 

 says. "With the restrictions on marina 

 operators now, it's almost impossible to 

 put in a new marina." 



Add to that the prospect of marinas 

 passing the higher price of access onto 



14 JULY/AUGUST 1994 



