Point Molate Naval Fuel Depot is a decommissioned United States Navy fueling station on the western shore of Richmond, California on San Francisco Bay. It has undergone years of litigation and debate as to its redevelopment with proposals ranging from a billion dollar casino project, parkland, housing, and other mixed uses.[1]
For centuries the Ohlone people fished at this location, later in the late 1800s it was the site of a Chinese shrimp camp.
The depot opened in 1941 on the site of a former winery and shrimp camp and was closed during the Clinton-era base closures and realignments in 1995[2] and operationally on September 30, 1998.[3] Part of the former naval base, the housing village Winehaven is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Other portions are under redevelopment plans by the city. A portion of the beach has been turned into Point Molate Beach Park.
In 2010 the tribe and Upstream sued the city for $US 750 million in damages, challenging the city council rejecting the proposed casino based on measure U. Eight years later judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers rejected the suit and further ruled the profits be split in half between the developer and the city.[6]
Also in 2018 a last ditch effort to operate a floating casino out of the Point Molate pier was struck down by the council.[7]
Housing development
On April 23, 2019, the Richmond City Council approved a resolution for the City and Winehaven Legacy LLC, a subsidiary of developer SunCal, to enter into an Exclusive Right to Negotiate Agreement (ERN) regarding the terms and conditions for the disposition and development of 270 acres within the Point Molate property. During the ERN period, the city and the developer will develop a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) that will define the project, address all key terms and describe the transfer and sale of the property. The mixed-use project components described in the ERN are contemplated in general to include: Commercial retail space; Office space; Community lawn and kayaking center, and a long-term plan for the pier; Shoreline park, open space areas and trail; Preservation and adaptive reuse of the Winehaven Historic District buildings; Residential space (estimated to be approximately 1,200 residential units; the actual number may differ and will be determined through the entitlement process; Preservation/adaptive reuse of Winehaven Historic District; improved public waterfront access; beach park, open space, and Bay Trail enhancement with pedestrian/bike-friendly design; and meet the city's public art, local hire and living wage requirements. The eventual DDA would commit the developer to provide at least 67 affordable units on-site. Any additional affordability requirements would be satisfied by on-site units or in-lieu fees under the city's Inclusionary Housing Ordinance.
If the property is actually sold to the developer, the profits will be shared with the Guideville tribe and Upstream, the company that was to build the casino project voted down by the city. Plans by other developers not chosen by the council included 670 to 2,200 apartments by Orton Development, while a joint proposal by Cal-Coast Companies and Mar Ventures proposed similar housing options, in addition to a 150-room hotel and converting the former naval quarters at the village of Winehaven food hall/brewery, similar to the San Francisco Ferry Building or Emeryville Public Market. Lastly, Samuelson Schafer proposed a mix of housing including apartments, condominiums, row houses, a retirement community, beach and retail.[8] Also under the agreement 70% of the site must be maintained as parkland.[9]
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a city council. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay region, Richmond borders San Pablo, Albany, El Cerrito and Pinole in addition to the unincorporated communities of North Richmond, Hasford Heights, Kensington, El Sobrante, Bayview-Montalvin Manor, Tara Hills, and East Richmond Heights, and for a short distance San Francisco on Red Rock Island in the San Francisco Bay.
The Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA) is a community/political group in Richmond, western Contra Costa County, California, United States. Its mission is to unite the left regardless of political party and was founded by Gayle McLaughlin and Marilyn Langlois.
Jim Rogers is an American politician. He served on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors in the 1990s, and was a city council member for the city of Richmond, California for three terms. He was first elected to the city council in 2002, and his final term expired in January 2015. He is a Democrat, considered a moderate, and has also been referred to as a progressive. He was called the San Francisco Bay Area's most famous lawyer because of television ads in which he dubbed himself as "The People's Lawyer".
Winehaven was a winery and town in Richmond, California, that held the title of "world's largest winery" for 12 years (1907–1919). It later became a fuel depot for the United States Navy.
Alameda Point is the name given to the lands of the former Naval Air Station Alameda in the City of Alameda, California. Alameda Point consists of 1,560 acres (6.3 km2) of land area at the western end of the island of Alameda. Most of the land was reclaimed from the San Francisco Bay.
Parchester Village is a planned majority African-American village in northwestern Richmond, California that was the first in the state to sell to blacks.
The Richmond City Council is the governing body for the city of Richmond, California. The council consists of the Mayor of Richmond and six other city council members, one designated Vice Mayor. The council members are all elected from the whole city; no members are elected by district or ward. The council members are elected to four-year terms, as opposed to the previous six-year terms. They are not all elected at once. The council members meet every first and third Tuesday of the month and, if necessary, hold special meetings on the remaining Tuesdays. Presently the entire city council is Democratic.
Point San Pablo Harbor is a marina and small community at the far end of Point San Pablo in San Pablo Bay, within Richmond, in Contra Costa County, California. It is located at 1900 Stenmark Drive, Richmond CA 94801.
San Pablo Peninsula is a peninsula in western Richmond, between San Pablo Bay and San Rafael Bay, in southwestern Contra Costa County, California.
Point Molate Beach Park is a city-owned park in Richmond, California, accessible only via a narrow road from the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge toll plaza exit "Western Drive", and separate from the rest of the city. The park is adjacent to the present day ghost town of Winehaven.
Tarnel Abbott is a free speech advocate, activist, and librarian from Richmond, California. She is the great-granddaughter of Jack London. Abbott is also a prominent fixture in local politics and council meetings especially on conservation.
The Dotson Family Marsh, formerly Breuner Marsh, is a 238-acre regional park on San Pablo Bay in the East San Francisco Bay Area city of Richmond, California, In 2009 the East Bay Regional Parks District acquired the Breuner Marsh site, adding it to Point Pinole Regional Shoreline. A habitat restoration plan for 60 acres of wetlands and 90 acres of California coastal prairie was subsequently approved.
Citizens for East Shore Parks (CESP) is a United States environmental organization that focuses on the acquisition and preservation of parkland in the San Francisco Bay Area. CESP works to protect open space along the East Bay shoreline for natural habitat and recreational purposes through a combination of advocacy, education, and outreach. Since its founding in 1985, CESP has worked to secure approximately 1,800 acres (730 ha) of public land, primarily through the creation of the 8.5-mile (13.7 km) long Eastshore State Park in 2002.
Point Molate may refer to:
The Potrero Hills also known as the Potrero Ridge and Point Molate Hills is a chaparral and forested escarpment that crests northwest to southeast along the San Pablo Peninsula in Richmond, California.
Castro Point is a cape in western Richmond, California, United States.
The Guideville Band of Pomo Indians is a Native American tribe of the Pomo Indians of northern California.
Casino San Pablo is a Native American reservation with a gambling hall located in San Pablo, California. It is operated by the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians. It is adjacent to the site of the now demolished Doctors Medical Center. The former medical center was sold to the tribe in 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
