Houseboat mooring-price battle headed to court

Drought and a dispute over Don Pedro Reservoir houseboat-mooring fees have led to a lawsuit.

Marina operators are asking a judge to terminate their contract with the Turlock and Modesto irrigation districts, saying drought has made it impossible to continue. The marinas also want at least $600,000 because the districts have been slow to impose higher charges for tying down 257 houseboats, plus unspecified amounts for improvements made in recent years.

“The impact of the recent California drought has led to unprecedented low water levels at the lake to the point where the purpose of the agreements has been frustrated and the contracts have become impossible to perform,” reads the lawsuit, filed by San Francisco attorneys on behalf of Forever Resorts.

The irrigation districts, citing legal constraints, refused to comment, but a Turlock Irrigation District board member said he hopes to resolve the disagreement.

The Arizona company has operated the Moccasin Point Marina at the lake’s north end since 1997, and the Lake Don Pedro Marina at its south end near Fleming Meadows since 2001. The company is suing TID, MID and San Francisco, which collectively own the reservoir east of Modesto near La Grange; representatives from each form the Don Pedro Recreation Agency, which sets policy such as mooring rates.

The agency has been in the middle of a long-running rates dispute featuring Forever Resorts calling for sharp hikes opposed by houseboat owners. The agency seemed to smooth things over with an April 2013 accord resulting in an interim rate increase and an understanding that a neutral consultant would study rates at other marinas to determine fair prices at Don Pedro, a popular boating, fishing and camping destination.

Tempers flared anew when the consultant in March 2014 suggested fee hikes of up to 68 percent. Houseboat owners hired a Ripon attorney and threatened to sue, while the marina company filed its own lawsuit a few weeks ago.

The agency should not have allowed houseboat owners to persuade the consultant to revise his recommendation, costing Forever Resorts $300,000 a year, says the lawsuit, alleging a contract breach.

“(The agency) yielded to pressure from houseboat owners and unilaterally allowed the owners to comment on the study results,” the lawsuit reads, concluding that Forever Resorts is owed $600,000 for two years of lower prices, and counting.

The company also wants to leave Don Pedro because of the drought, which forced the north-end marina to close and surrounding houseboats to flee to temporary moorings at the deeper and more crowded south end. A Stanislaus Superior Court judge should terminate the marinas’ contract, the lawsuit says, and order the agency to pay the company an unspecified sum for marina improvements; a company spokesman three years ago said Forever Resorts had spent $2.2 million.

Michael Frantz, who represents TID on the agency’s board of control, said the board “is aware of the dissatisfaction of Forever Resorts. We continue to be hopeful we’ll work out a resolution agreement to both Forever Resorts and our customers.”

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Houseboat mooring-price battle headed to court."