Orange County Supervisors deadlocked again on what to do with leases for the Dana Point Harbor after locking the public out of most of their discussions on Tuesday, giving unknown directions to their staff on negotiating the deal. 

It’s a transparency struggle that’s stretched for months as supervisors repeatedly kicked a decision down the road, asking for more changes and shifts to the lease to help fast-track the development of two new hotels in Dana Point Harbor.  

Read: Supervisors Punt Again on Dana Point Harbor Renovation Deal, Leaving Hotels in Limbo

But the public was not able to see any of the letters from or discussions with the developer that took place outside government meetings, even as supervisors publicly discussed them and noted how negotiations were taking place into the nights before the meetings.   

County spokesperson Molly Nichelson said the negotiations and any connected documents were exempt from public discussion despite the fact supervisors discussed them from the dais in a statement last Thursday. 

“CEO Real Estate is currently in negotiations and we cannot comment on pending matters,” Nichelson wrote. “The exemptions from the public records act CEO Real Estate uses are attorney-client privileged and a part of the deliberative process.” 

Orange County Dana Point Harbor on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2026. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC

Supervisors pulled almost all of the discussion out of public view on Tuesday morning after county counsel Leon Page asked the board to discuss new revelations on the contract in closed session, a discussion that was not agendized or mentioned previously. 

It was unclear why board members needed to shift behind closed doors, with Supervisor Katrina Foley saying it was focused on the “legalities of the process.” 

“My request is we move into the closed session so we all have an understanding,” Foley said. “I don’t think we want to discuss that on the dais.” 

Supervisor Janet Nguyen brought up concerns over what they could legally discuss about the deal behind closed doors. 

“If I understand correctly, state law only allows closed sessions in terms of pricing and terms of payment,” Nguyen said. “It’s not really to negotiate, we can’t really negotiate in private.” 

“You are giving direction to your negotiator in private,” Page said. 

David Loy, the legal director of the First Amendment Coalition, said he had “never heard,” of a public agency pulling an item from open into closed session in a Tuesday interview, noting that while it may not necessarily be illegal it does open big questions from the public. 

“The purpose of the agenda requirement is that the public has notice of what’s going to be discussed in the meeting,” Loy said. “It creates a risk of misunderstanding at best. 

Loy also noted that under the transparency laws, the things supervisors can discuss behind closed doors on real estate deals are very limited. 

“A legislative body of a local agency may hold a closed session with its negotiator prior to the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of real property by or for the local agency to grant authority to its negotiator regarding the price and terms of payment for the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease,” reads the law cited by county lawyers to speak behind closed doors.

“If they dot their I-s and cross their T-s on that they can theoretically go into the closed sessions to give authority on price and terms of payment,” Loy said. “It’s really got to be limited to that issue.” 

Orange County Dana Point Harbor on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2026. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC

But there’s been no question over the pricing of the leases that were originally set in 2018, with supervisors instead bringing up questions over bifurcating the lease, helping connect the hotel employees with other work and helping set pricing for boats parking in the harbor. 

Bob Olson, one of the lead developers involved with Dana Point Harbor Partners, said there have not been any discussions about changing the pricing or terms of payment to the county. 

“It’s all the same,” Olson wrote in a Wednesday statement. 

Loy said that even if keeping the public in the dark on negotiations is legal, it could also lower public trust in the institution. 

“Transparency is important because transparency builds trust and skirting the edge of the letter of the law does not build trust,” Loy said. “I recognize that’s inconvenient but transparency and democracy can be inconvenient sometimes.” 

It remains unclear what supervisors discussed in closed session, with Page reporting the supervisors did give direction to staff, but saying there was no reportable action to the public. 

After the closed session on Tuesday, county leaders came back out and deadlocked again on a deal to move forward with the leases that did not include protections for the current workers of the Dana Point Marina Inn, which is planned to eventually be torn down and replaced by the new hotels. 

Supervisor Katrina Foley, who originally insisted the county protect workers but has backed off getting that assurance in writing, said county officials needed to move forward with the lease for the developers to get financing on the hotel, asking for a new deal that would allow the Marina Inn to be remodeled and potentially new hotels in the future. 

“They can work on that separately,” Foley said. “All other matters can be tabled for now.” 

Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, Foley’s sole supporter to move forward with the lease, said that he was nervous about moving forward with the lease without protections for workers baked in but still voted for it. 

“I don’t want the idea of seeking financing for new hotels being accomplished and we not address the idea of potential displacement without any sort of remedy for them,” Sarmiento said. “That may be a discussion for another day but I don’t want that to get lost in the record.”

Supervisors Doug Chaffee and Don Wagner voted against the deal, and Supervisor Janet Nguyen abstained altogether. 

No supervisors mentioned concerns about the increase in boat slip pricing, which many residents have flagged as a concern for middle class residents being priced out of the harbor. 

After the lease failed to get approved for a third time, Olson said they would likely move forward without the two new hotels and instead remodel the existing inn in a text to Voice of OC. 

“Disappointed is an understatement,” Olson said. “It does not sound like this is going to come back before the board anytime in the near future. It only forces our hand to remodel the existing Marina Inn.”

Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.