FROM: ------
TO: Jennifer Belcher, WA St Legislators, Seattle Mayor Paul Schell, & the Seattle City Council

April 9, 2000

Commissioner of Public Lands
Commissioner Jennifer M. Belcher
Department of Natural Resources
PO Box 47001
Olympia, WA 98504-7001

RE: Washington State Boat "Liveaboard" Situation

Dear Commissioner Belcher:

We are writing to express our concerns about the recently renegotiated leases with three marinas on Westlake Avenue on Lake Union. Before agreeing to the new leases, the DNR required those marina operators to evict anyone who was living on a boat.

This action affects us in many ways:

  • Our current situation is affected: We currently own a small sailboat moored in Lake Union. Although we don't current live aboard, we appreciate that fact that some of our neighbors do. They keep our marina neighborhood safe and secure.


  • Our future situation is affected: In a few years, we plan to build a larger boat in preparation for circumnavigating the globe. We will live aboard the boat and do sea trials here in the relative safety of Puget Sound. If we are unable to live aboard in Puget Sound, we will have to head offshore from one of the most hazardous coasts in the world in an untried boat.


  • Our friends are affected: We have dozens of friends who live aboard boats in the state of Washington. Their environmental impact is miniscule compared to our land-based household. They use less water in a week than we do in one day. Not only do they not litter, they generate much less garbage for landfills. They use less electricity and fossil fuel to heat and cook. Many of them use bicycles and alternative modes of transportation. We should be looking to these individuals as leaders of the environmental movement, not demanding that they join us on land!


  • Our city and state are affected: The lifestyle these people have chosen is different and that diversity makes Seattle and Washington a better place to live.


    • We understand that the DNR's position is based on the interpretation of the Aquatic Lands Act (RCW 79.90.450-79.90.545), which they feel does not allow for any live aboard boat owners over public lands because that is not a "water-dependent use." We disagree with the DNR's interpretation, especially regarding the following:

  • Living on a boat IS a water-dependent use. It's hard to imagine a more water-dependent use than a boat. Many of these liveaboards are hard-working individuals who make monthly boat payments that are comparable to our house payments. After adding in moorage fees, there isn't enough money left over for them to rent an apartment or buy a house. Even if they could afford to, why would they choose to let their boats sit in a marina (because "moorage" is considered a "water-dependent use") when they could live on them?


  • Living on a boat over public land is NOT like setting up a motor home in a state park. Aquatic land and "terrestrial" land are completely different. The DNR manages less than 8% of the "terrestrial" land in the state of Washington. But in the case of aquatic lands, the DNR controls the majority: A whopping 80%. Unlike a motor home owner, who can rent or buy private land for their "vessel," boat owners have nowhere else to go without leaving the state.


  • Marinas are NOT public property. Once a marina has rented the property from the DNR, erected locked gates, and collected payment, the public can no longer freely use it.


    • Our current laws on what is a "water-dependent use" are obviously unclear and inadequate. It is time to reevaluate them and make sure that they can be enforced fairly.

    We agree that without proper care and stewardship, these priceless aquatic lands will no longer be available to all residents of the state, present and future. As the state's population grows, there will be more people and more boats needing moorage. While it's important to carefully manage such uses, evicting people who live aboard their boats is not the answer - it doesn't even reduce the number of boats on public aquatic land.

    Please reconsider your interpretation of the Aquatic Lands Act and work with boaters in the state of Washington to come up with a better solution.

    Sincerely,

    ------
    Copyright © March, 2001