As some Liberty Station community residents push for access to the only floating dock on the boat channel in the former Naval Training Center, a private company that currently controls the dock says it’s not fit for public use and that the city should build one somewhere else along the channel. A public spat over access to the boat dock has community members and District 2 City Councilmember Kevin Faulconer urging the city and the Navy to allow residents to use the dock along the north end of Liberty Station. In recent years, the city has been working with the Navy and the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board to clean the channel’s sediment before transferring the property from the Navy to the city — with progress moving at a sludge-like pace. “The Shoreline Plaza boat dock is currently locked and closed to the public,” Faulconer said in a letter to the San Diego City Attorney’s Office and Chief Operating Officer Jay Goldstone. “I have asked the Navy and city to look for ways for the city to take control of the dock to allow public access.” Faulconer sent the letter to city officials in December, asking that the Navy enter into a deal with the city to keep the dock and a footbridge along North Harbor Drive open to the public. Navy public information officer Melanie Ault responded to e-mail inquiries on behalf of Tony Megliola, base closure manager for NTC San Diego, stating: “The Navy is amenable to providing the city of San Diego at no cost with the appropriate real estate instruments such as a license, lease or easement to allow the city to control both the bridge and dock.” But while progress on such a deal seems slow to come, community infighting over resources continued to smolder during a series of public meetings. Though the dock sits in the channel and ultimately on Navy property, private underwater technology company Seabotix (on Historic Decatur Road) currently uses the dock, locking it up when not in use. The company makes remote controlled, underwater search vehicles and contracts with several government agencies. Liberty Station resident Greg Finley said use of the dock by Seabotix amounts to “stealing.” “I live here. I bought property here and I see the water connection,” Finley said. “It’s the water connection that gives the [property] its value and without that … then we’re suffering.” A former San Diego City Council candidate, Finley said public access to the dock and transfer of the boat channel to city hands “should have happened years ago,” in keeping with the NTC Precise Plan — the community’s development blueprint. Neighbors have been discussing details and implementation of the plan since developer Corky McMillin Cos. first started redevelopment of the former Naval Training Center several years ago. But even while community members push for public control of the Shoreline Plaza dock, others such as Seabotix Inc. President Donald Rodocker said the dock isn’t a fit for public use. In a letter to Faulconer’s office, Seabotix Inc. asks the city to “keep this dock either private ownership or a secured dock with use by permit only.” Being so close to the San Diego International Airport, Seabotix officials say the dock lies within the “runway protection zone.” This, according to Rodocker, would limit the number of people able to use the dock in the same way nearby buildings have occupancy limits ranging from about 20 to 50 persons permitted in a building at any given time. With no way to track public occupancy, the dock would pose a safety hazard, Rodocker said. The pier connecting the floating dock to land extends about 25 meters from the shoreline into the channel. Bringing the pier up to public safety and American Disabilities Act standards would also cost the city lots of money, according to Rodocker. He said the community would be better served if an entire new dock were built from scratch closer to the south end of the channel. He added that parking near the area is paid for by local businesses and allowed for use by permit or for business purposes. Were the dock to be opened, the only public access would be through the sidewalk esplanade adjacent the waterway. Visitors could potentially be trespassing if they cross privately held property. “We pay for it,” Rodocker said. “[So] are we likely to grant that access? No.” The city and Navy are moving slowly toward cleaning up the channel sediment. The sediment has been a pollutant of the channel for decades because of heavy Navy use and lax environmental standards. However, the Navy has met with the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board more than a dozen times over the last year to determine cleanup standards. Navy officials say the federal government intends to submit a feasibility study report to the water quality control board in September.