A Sausalito marina owner has taken over nearby Pelican Harbour marina.
Cameron Razavi runs Bridgeway Marina. In mid-May, the City Council voted to deny his request to lease the tidelands under the 90-slip Pelican Harbour marina, citing public interest issues.
That decision, in part prompted by public opposition, including mariners who kept or lived aboard boats at the harbor, prevented the $13.4 million sale from closing.
“We had a substantial non-refundable deposit and we have to find a way to move forward with the transaction,” Razavi said. “Unfortunately, it ended up costing us substantially more.”
Razavi said he is “general partner of the entity that owns it” and the harbormaster, which means he has fiscal responsibilities and liabilities as an investor and oversees its daily operation.
A July 1 letter from Frank Cialone, an attorney representing Flynn Family Holdings, a San Francisco real estate company that has owned and operated Pelican Harbour for decades, informed city officials.
It said the tidelands lease that expires in 2040 “does not contain any ‘Change in Control’ term or other provision that would have precluded the former owners of Pelican from transferring their ownership interests, or any portion of those interests, to another person without the City’s consent.”
“We elected to inform you so that the City would learn about this promptly and from us,” Cialone said. “My clients therefore proceeded accordingly.”
Sara Flynn of Flynn Family Holdings did not respond to a request to comment.
Pelican Harbour mariners and residents learned of the transfer on the eve of the July 4 weekend. Razavi posted a notice on the harbor office that he would be the harbormaster effective July 1, and rent payments “will continue” to the same business as before.
The facility’s longtime harbormaster and maintenance employee were laid off, according to several boat owners who said maintenance issues needed to be addressed. Most pressing was a water line to boats docked on one pier that apparently had broken over the holiday weekend. Another was bathrooms that need cleaning.
A letter from Razavi dated July 2 informed slip holders of a “change of terms of lease,” which raises monthly rents substantially as of Oct. 10.
A letter to Dane Faber, a lawyer who keeps a vintage wooden trawler at the marina, increased the rent from $1,100 to $2,600. Monthly rates for assigned parking spaces “will increase from $100 per month to $200 per month.”
Faber said many mariners and residents will not be able to afford the increase and have very few options for relocating their vessels.
“It was clearly done with an objective of thwarting the city’s ruling,” Faber said. “There was nothing subtle about it.”
“There will be court action on it. I can guarantee it,” he said. “If I have to hire the attorney and file it myself, I will be fully prepared to do that. And unlike so many of my neighbors, I’m financially able to do that, whereas my concern actually may be greater for the many friends I have there who I know are unable to do anything about this.”
Skip Kleger, another mariner, said he called Razavi over the holiday weekend to find out what was going on and was told he might want to think about relocating.
Kleger was among a half-dozen boat owners, including some who live aboard their vessels, who urged the City Council to intervene Tuesday during public open time.
“I am one of a growing group of tenants of Pelican Harbour and I seek the council and the city attorney’s advice on describing the extent to which Razavi has the right to operate within the jurisdiction of Sausalito, specifically Pelican Harbour,” he said.
“On May 14, this council made a clear decision after hearing extensive public testimony and reviewing Mr. Razavi’s public record,” said Rob McCollough, who has lived at the harbor for 26 years. “Your decision is now being deliberately circumvented.”
“As a practical matter, the individual whose assumption of the leasehold this council rejected now appears to be exercising operational control of that marina,” he said. “This case is no longer simply about one marina. It’s about whether decisions of this elected body concerning public trust property can be avoided through legal technicalities.”
“I’ve had a boat in Pelican Harbour for more than 10 years now,” said Warren Hewerdine, who said his rent increased 174%. “This isn’t a written adjustment, it’s a financial shock.”
“An increase of this magnitude fundamentally changes whether ordinary people can afford to keep their boats in the community,” he said. “Pelican Harbour deserves stewardship that builds trust, not management that prices out the very people who make the marina the vibrant community it is today.”
“This end run cannot be tolerated by the city,” said Sandra Bushmaker, a former council member. “Please, city of Sausalito and council, do something about this renegade who has taken over Pelican Harbour.”
“We can refer this to our city attorney,” Mayor Steven Woodside said. “And we can, I guess, project that we can consider this item at our next meeting on the 21st of July. I think that’s all we can do tonight.”
Razavi did not attend the meeting, but earlier Tuesday responded to some of the criticism.
“I’m looking for a win-win for the community in Sausalito — for the tenants, for myself, for my business partners and for the city,” he said. “I have a great relationship with the city of Sausalito and I’m hoping to continue to provide services. And, you know, all I do is work. And that’s my biggest crime, wanting to continue to work.”
“I have a very successful property right next door,” Razavi said. “We will continue with the maintenance. We cannot sustain a business if we do not do things the right way.”
When asked about unaffordable rent increase for the handful of harbor residents, he said he was unaware of people living on boats at the harbor.
“That’s not what they told me,” he said. “But if they’re live-aboard, you know, I’ll look at them on an individual basis. As you know, I have a gentleman who pays $300 a month at Bridgeway. I don’t want to condone or encourage this activity, but I have people that pay whenever they can. … I work with people.”