Boathouse, other structures at Lakebay Marina to be torn down as part of county abatement process
The embattled Lakebay Marina is facing yet another challenge, as Pierce County has obtained a court order to tear down some of the more dilapidated structures at the site.
The buildings to be demolished are three outbuildings and the old boathouse, not the main marina building, pier or dock.
The action, called an abatement, will take place sometime during the week of Dec. 14, a county spokesperson said. An abatement is an involuntary action taken against property that has become a danger to the public.
Pierce County Council Member Derek Young told The Gateway that the marina itself will not be impacted.
“The buildings are falling down and covered in blackberries,” Young said. “They’re only structures in the loosest sense of the term, which is also why there is a nuisance abatement happening.”
The county Planning and Public Works Department obtained the abatement order.
Owner Mark Scott declined to comment, though he did pen a Nov. 28 Facebook post that acknowledged the impending abatement and calling for public protest.
“I have fought hard and long to save the historic buildings at Lakebay Marina,” Scott wrote. “The Pierce County was out on Wednesday before Thanksgiving and gave me an abatement that they are going to charge me and tear down the historic store hotel and cabins.
“I humbly ask you to protest this. What benefit will the public receive from losing these historic structures? I have had architects and engineers say they can be rebuilt... Aren’t we going through enough hardships now? The county should instead ask the public what they can do to help save the historic store and cabins.”
Scott is in the process of selling the marina and the surrounding land to the Recreational Boating Association of Washington, which has plans to restore the marina and turn it over to the state as a marine park.
The historic marina has been a landmark on the Key Peninsula since the 1880s, but it has been in rundown condition for decades. Since acquiring the property in 2013, Scott has struggled with maintenance and numerous regulatory problems.
Once a 19th Century timber-loading dock, a stop for the famed “Mosquito fleet” of small steamers, and later an egg warehouse, the Lakebay Marina is one of only two public marine facilities on the Key Peninsula, and one of the few fuel docks in the southern part of the Sound.
Scott purchased the marina in 2012, but has struggled to keep up with electrical and structural problems dogging the deteriorating pier and warehouse. At one point, the entire facility was closed by Pierce County until it was brought up to fire and safety codes.
The marina and its adjoining Lakebay Cafe reopened in July 2019, following months of reconstruction and work to meet state and county standards.
The marina, cafe and campground were dogged in the past by county permitting and health violations. It was cited in June 2019 for an unapproved water system and for not having power in the cafe, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said.
Over the course of the last several months, Scott has been talking with the nonprofit boating association about purchasing the marina. In November of 2019, RBAW agreed on a price of $1.24 million for the property, which includes the pier, the warehouse and cafe, and five parcels of land surrounding Mayo Cove.
But the deal fell through when the one-year agreement ran out in September and Scott tripled his price to $3.135 million. On Nov. 1, however, the parties reached a new agreement for a second one-year extension at the original price.
Bob Wise, president of the boating association, said fundraising efforts have been “complicated by the coronavirus” but now an extension “is in place” until September of 2021.
“We’ve raised several hundred thousand dollars and so we still have a significant amount of money still to raise but we’re confident that a number of the grants will provide us with that funding,” Wise said. “We believe that we’ll complete the sale on time.”
Wise said the price is now set at $1.28 million but that they are fundraising for more than just the purchase.
“We have two things we’re looking for. One is to complete the acquisition itself and then the second is money to do the renovations that are needed to improve the property,” Wise said.
As for the pending demolition, Wise said he was planning to meet with the county to discuss what was happening.
“I’m not excited about tearing anything down out there, but we understand that they have concerns about some of the buildings on the property,” Wise said.
The concerns are ones Young said had been raised previously to the current owner and that the further action of demolition was the next step.
“They’re dilapidated beyond repair,” Young said. “After a certain amount of time of enforcing, if the property owner doesn’t agree to do something the county will abate it for the property owner and move on from there.”
State law gives the abating agency authority to charge the landowner for the cost, including placing a lien on the property.
Young said there was an opportunity provided to the owner to address the concerns over the property, but that all those avenues had been exhausted.
“He could bring them up to building code,” Young said. “That doesn’t mean they have to be habitable necessarily, but at least not an attractive nuisance and a public safety and health hazard. Or he could remove them himself at his own expense.”
Reach Chase Hutchinson at chase.hutchinson@thenewstribune.com
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 8:09 AM.
