Press Release: Richmond City Council poised to vote on path forward for Point Molate Park

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact person:  Richmond Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin 

Gayle_McLaughlin@ci.richmond.ca.us

(510) 680-6377

 

Richmond City Council poised to vote on path forward for Point Molate Park

July 10, 2014 — Richmond, CA

 

  On Friday July 12, 2024, starting with Closed Session at 9:30 a.m. followed by Open Session at 10:00 a.m., the Richmond City Council will hold a special meeting  to take a long-awaited next step in terms of creating a world class regional park at Pt. Molate by voting on a Letter of Intent (LOI) that will be signed by the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD), Point Molate Futures LLC (PMF) owned by the Guidiville Rancheria of California, and the City of Richmond. This LOI is a precursor to the Purchase and Sale Agreement which will transfer the property into the hands of EBRPD. EBRPD will pay $40M which is under the appraised value, and the transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, after approval by the California Coastal Conservancy Commission in September. The agenda item can be accessed HERE .

Pt. Molate is a former United States Naval Fuel Depot on the shores of San Francisco Bay, north of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, and was transferred to the City of Richmond as part of the federal base closure and reuse process. The property being transferred includes approximately 81.56 acres and all of the former “development parcels” including the historic Winehaven property.

The story of Pt. Molate has been a long and winding road with many peaks and valleys.  Most importantly, the story of Pt Molate is a story of what grassroots action and coalition-building can accomplish and a tribute to decades-long advocacy for this world class park. As stated by Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin: “Twenty plus years of community organizing, continuously bringing to the forefront the hopes and dreams of our residents for a major park at Point Molate, have once again demonstrated that with hard work and perseverance, dreams can and do come true!

This regional park and its amenities will provide enormous environmental, cultural, historic and recreational benefits. The site is home to osprey, leopard sharks, otters, carbon-sequestering eelgrass, vital watersheds, and irreplaceable habitat and biodiversity. Going back to the site’s earliest history, the Ohlone tribes with their respectful relationship to nature, lived and hunted on the land, leaving many sacred burial sites that need protection today. The historic and environmental richness of the site provides great learning opportunities, including enhancing education about the climate emergency we are all facing. Add to that, the many recreational programs this park will open up to meet the many recreational needs of Richmond’s diverse, majority people of color, population.  The LOI now clearly sets the stage for an inspirational project. Now at a pivotal moment in time, the City Council will call a special meeting on Friday, July 12 to vote on this LOI.

This transaction became possible due to Senator Nancy Skinner ensuring that a $36 million dollar grant for property acquisition from the California Coastal Conservancy is in the State budget and remained available amid significant state budget challenges.  This grant has allowed for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire the site and build this regional park at Pt. Molate.  Also, Supervisor John Gioia and Park Board member Elizabeth Echols were major champions of this project, and something of this scale only occurs with many persons taking part.

Previously proposed projects for the site throughout the years have included a Las Vegas-style casino proposed in 2004, and more recently a high-end waterfront housing project (the SunCal project).  These plans were abandoned due to negative impacts, including financial, safety and environmental flaws, that threatened our community and our environment. In fact, while SunCal’s subsidiary Winehaven Legacy, LLC had agreed to a $45M purchase price, an environmental lawsuit successfully obtained a judgement by the Court of Appeals requiring that the approvals be set aside, as they were by the City Council on June 5, 2024.

Additionally, in 2022, the City of Richmond rejected proceeding with the sale of the property to SunCal due to the developer’s failure to provide the required financial advances and breach of contract due to the financial impact on the General Fund, and other breaches of the contract. As a result, due to a 2019 “Amended Judgment” (resolving Federal claims by Guidiville Tribe against the City), approved by a majority of a previous City Council, the City was required to transfer the property to the Guidiville Tribe for a period of up to 5 years for  the Tribe to find a developer for the  site..

Below are some major points in the LOI which have been agreed to in concept and will be brought to the respective parties (PMF, EBRPD and the City of Richmond):

 

  1. The property, currently in the hands of Pt. Molate Futures (the Guidiville Tribe), will be sold to the EBRPD for $40 million dollars.
  2. The City will fully waive its 50% share of the sale proceeds, so the entire price is received by the Tribe in view of the following key provisions:
    • The Park District acknowledges that it is acquiring the property in an “AS IS, WHERE IS, AND WITH ALL FAULTS condition” and that after Closing the District shall be responsible for environmental remediation which has been an ongoing project. No longer having this responsibility will allow the City to shift its focus onto other pressing needs of the City and community.
    • The Park District will be taking on all maintenance and security of the property, except for the first year, when the City will continue its current maintenance up to a cost maximum of $400,000. This provides the Park District with a ramp up period for its staff to take over all maintenance and security. This will save the City millions of dollars of ongoing expenses to upkeep the Property. The City has been spending up to $1 million annually on maintenance and security, including environmental remediation, at Pt. Molate. Other expenses have included preservation of historical structures. Relieving the City of these ongoing obligations is a major benefit to Richmond.  
  1. After Closing of the purchase and sale of the Property, the City and Guidiville/Upstream will file a dismissal of the 2019 Amended Judgment, resolving all past issues and claims between Guidiville/Upstream and the City of Richmond.
  2. The Park District commits to engage with the City on Equity outreach and planning, and to conduct community and stakeholder park planning outreach, specifically with the Richmond residents throughout the process, as well keep official bodies of the City (including the City Council, Recreation and Parks Commission and Planning Commission) fully apprised of key milestones in planning and development of the park. The City anticipates that development for recreation, park amenities, and open space purposes will ultimately provide a priceless community benefit.
  3. In addition to saving the City millions of dollars on upkeep and problem-solving in terms of use of the site, the City will also be receiving 1.2 million dollars in transfer tax from the sale of the property and all the economic benefits that parks, especially one the size of Pt. Molate, are known to bring, drawing visitors from near and far who bring tourism revenue to local restaurants, hotels, shops, and stores.

Point Molate has been called “the most beautiful part of San Francisco bay no one’s ever heard of.”  We are now at the point where everyone throughout the Bay Area and beyond will come to know Richmond as home to an amazing world class park at Pt. Molate.

The timeline in approving the LOI will be (i) a special meeting of City Council on Friday, July 12, followed by (ii) a vote of the East Bay Regional Park District Board on Tuesday, July 16. Thereafter would come approval by the California Coastal Conservancy scheduled for September 5 and a Closing before the end of the year.

Thanks go out to all parties to this LOI, which include Point Molate Futures LLC (i.e. the Guidiville Tribe) and their partner, Upstream; East Bay Regional Park District; and City of Richmond.  And an enormous thank you goes out to the residents and community groups that held tight for so long to the dream and worked hard to get us to this point!!

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