Newport shipwright ordered by judge to move boat
A Orange County Superior Court judge has ordered a Newport Beach shipwright to remove his 72-foot vintage wooden ship from his yard.
It’s the latest development in a long-running conflict involving boat builder Dennis Holland, his neighbors and city officials, who sued to have the ship removed.
Holland has until April 30 to remove the ship from his Holiday Road home, or he could face up to $1,000 in daily fines, or possibly jail time, according to Deputy City Attorney Kyle Rowen.
Superior Court Judge Gregory Munoz issued the preliminary injunction Thursday.
Holland has been restoring the Shawnee, a 1916 ketch, in his West Bay neighborhood home for about six years. Some neighbors support the project, saying it adds character to the community, while others — including the couple who can see the stern from their bedroom — want it moved to an industrial area.
“We know it’s a step in favor of removing that big blight out of the neighborhood,” said neighbor Dalia Lugo.
Last year, city officials took Holland to court after repeated fines and orders failed to budge the boat. Holland has been violating a 2009 ordinance that requires him to obtain a permit and give officials an estimated completion date. Because Holland said the project is too complex to pick a date, the city last granted him a permit in 2010.
“Mr. Holland has been in violation of city laws for many years and has had ample opportunity to move the boat to a suitable location,” City Attorney Aaron Harp wrote in an email Friday. “The city is hopeful that Mr. Holland will comply with the court order and move the boat to a suitable location that is consistent with applicable laws.”
A trial has been set for April 30.
Holland contends that his restoration project was legal when he moved the boat to his home, and that the city cannot retroactively enforce a law. He also argues that the city singled him out by creating the 2009 ordinance.
In recent months, Holland took a break from the physical woodwork because he was undergoing cancer treatment, but the disease is now in remission.
Holland said he needs about three to four more years to finish the restoration. It took him about 12 years to build the Pilgrim, a 118-foot replica of a 1770 schooner, now sailing in Dana Point Harbor. That project was during a different era — the 1970s and 1980s — and on a Costa Mesa street with different neighbors.
“I can’t move the boat,” Holland said Friday. “The city’s going to have to come in and destroy it. I don’t have the heart to.”
Twitter: @mreicher