The fate of some harborside businesses in Rye — including a whale watch, lobster pound and charter fishing operators — remain in limbo months out from the summer season, as their annual leases with a state agency haven’t yet been renewed.
It’s part of a long simmering debate over the future of Rye Harbor, where the state has leased valuable shorefront land to private businesses for decades.
The Pease Development Authority oversees the harbor and issues lease agreements called “Rights of Entry” to private businesses, including Granite State Whale Watch, a number of charter fishing operators, an oyster company and a lobster pound.
The nine businesses leasing space in the state-owned harbor operate out of shacks that are privately owned and taxed. The current lease agreements between the state and the businesses are slated to expire at the end of April. The businesses have raised concerns about any delays in renewing their agreements before the upcoming summer season.
At a meeting of the Pease Development Authority Tuesday, PDA Chairman Steve Duprey disclosed that the agency is seeking guidance from the Attorney General’s office about the legality of the leasing process.
“We understand that there is some angst and some uncertainty,” he said.
Duprey said the PDA will begin negotiating one-year extensions of the Rights of Entry but cautioned that if the Attorney General determines the leasing system is out of step with state regulations, then “it’s game over.” He warned that, if that happens, it could take months for the state to draft and approve new leasing rules. (Duprey also sits on NHPR’s Board of Directors but has no direct role in our news coverage.)
The Attorney General’s office declined to comment Tuesday on the status of its legal review.
Businesses and lawmakers say the harbor can’t afford any delay.
“You have a whale watch operation that serves local school districts that are planning trips in May, and you have a lease that is expiring in April, and that just doesn’t work,” Rep. Peggy Balboni, a Democrat whose district includes Rye, said during public comments at Tuesday’s meeting.
An uncertain future
The uncertainty over the future of the harbor comes just months after the PDA board scrapped a plan to build a raised structure in the parking area of Rye Harbor. That proposal faced pushback from the shack owners, and could have further constrained parking at the harbor, which is already an endangered resource on busy summer weekends.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the PDA board approved a contract with a consultancy group to begin a master planning process for the future of the harbor. The consultant is expected to convene public hearings and review how the state manages other government-owned natural landmarks, including Odiorne Point State Park and the Cannon Mountain ski area.
Duprey noted that those facilities bid out food and concession opportunities to vendors, something that has never happened at Rye Harbor.
“We want a process that someone in Berlin can understand and know the rules and have a chance to apply, just as well as the person in Rye,” said Duprey. “There aren’t any sacred cows.”
One major difference between Rye Harbor and some other state assets, however, is the presence of the shacks.
“You don’t own my building,” Adam Baker, of Vintage Fish Company, told Duprey. “I do.”
Baker and the other shack owners currently pay property taxes to the town of Rye on the value of their structures. Over the decades, owners have invested in the shacks, though they retain their ragtag look and feel.
“This was something that was set in place 50 years ago,” said Baker. “It is a unique situation, and we need to figure out how to work together, because those are the cards that we were dealt.”
Parking fees
Visitors could expect to see changes to parking fees at Rye and Hampton harbors starting this spring. The PDA gave preliminary approval Tuesday to raise the rates for the first time in 20 years.
Under the proposal, the cost for a vehicle would rise from $5 to $10 per day beginning May 1, while bus parking would go from $25 to $50. Trailer and boat storage fees would also increase.
The agency forecasts the increased fees could bring in an additional $141,000 annually. A public hearing on the new parking fees has not yet been scheduled.
