Harbormaster Steve Land seeks additional year‑round staff and capital for Anne Street Pier as cruise traffic grows

Harbormaster Steve Land told the council that harbor operations are expanding and asked for an additional year-round deputy to sustain service levels as seasonality and demand increase.

Land said Newport Harbor is growing ‘‘with services’’ and that while seasonal staff perform well, year-round deputies provide institutional knowledge about permits, ordinances and daily operations. The additional full-time position is the largest personnel increase in his proposed maritime budget.

Capital priorities Land discussed include a planned public-access rebuild at the waterfront building commonly seen from America's Cup Avenue (he called it a “Karate Park” redevelopment in his remarks), an Anne Street Pier project that expects a combined federal-state funding package, and a multi-year effort to purchase a new patrol boat (the department already has $100,000 in a capital account and expects to finalize an order within the next procurement cycle). He said Anne Street Pier’s permit is moving through state review and that Fish & Wildlife and a matching bond would support construction; the concrete docks have a lead time that could extend the schedule.

Land also raised mooring and dinghy-permit management as a policy focus. He said the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) has indicated municipalities have authority to control transfers of mooring permits; Land urged the city to reassert management of permits to prevent private transfer activity that removed public assets from active public use. He said that change — and stricter control of transfers — could produce significant long-term revenue for harbor public-access improvements.

Tourism-linked revenues were a frequent subject. Land said cruise-ship calls spiked the prior year and that new cruise-ship fees coming in January 2026 will substantially raise harbor revenue in the 2027 forecast. He said current cruise bookings include dozens of calls (the prior two years included a high year with about 70 calls) and that staff are recommending managing cruise-ship scheduling to weekday slots to limit downtown congestion during peak weekends.

Land said the harbor department typically runs in the black on an operating basis and reinvests maritime revenues into public access, mooring infrastructure and capital improvements. He asked the council to consider rate adjustments for moorings and other harbor fees as part of a multi-year financial plan.

Councilors asked about capacity to support professional events such as SailGP and the Ocean Race; Land said the harbor will be able to host large sailing events with appropriate interagency coordination, including the Coast Guard and state police.

No formal actions were taken during the presentation.