Rent and Benchmark Information

Commission lease terms may run from several months to 49 years. Rent is generally based on a percent of the land value or an established benchmark appraisal. Below are the benchmarks we use to establish uniform rental rates:

  • Category 1 benchmarks are applied to private docks, piers, and buoys.
  • Category 2 benchmarks are applied to cantilevered decks, sundecks, or other non-water-dependent encroachments.

Note: Benchmarks are generally updated every five years.

Category 1

Location Rental Rate ($/SF) Last Updated Proposed Update
Sacramento River $0.214 April 2020 2025
Delta Area $0.168 April 2020 2025
Tomales Bay berths $0.133 December 2020 2025
Tomales Bay buoys* $140.00 December 2020 2025
Lake Tahoe berths $0.814 December 2021 2026
Lake Tahoe buoys* $273.00 December 2021 2026
San Francisco Bay Area $0.227 February 2022 2027
Southern California $0.451 June 2022 2027
Colorado River $0.217 February 2023 2028

*per buoy

Category 2

Location Rental Rate ($/SF) Last Updated Proposed Update
Black Point $0.47 June 2020 2025
Lake Tahoe $13.05 December 2021 2026
Huntington Harbour $41.22 June 2022 2027
Solana Beach $91.53 April 2024 2029
Corte Madera $5.22 June 2024 2029
Napa $7.20 June 2024 2029
Sandy Beach $3.69 August  2024 2029

** The Category 2 Benchmark may be discounted to reflect that the sovereign land being leased may not have the same utility as the upland property.

Contact

Surface & Submerged Lands Lease and
Geologic & Geophysical Survey Permit

Land Management Division
100 Howe Avenue, Suite 100 South
Sacramento, CA 95825
916.574.1940

Mineral Lease
Mineral Resources Management Division
301 East Ocean Boulevard, Suite 550
Long Beach, CA 90802
562.590.5201