North Richmond Shoreline Open Space Alliance

North Richmond Shoreline Open Space Alliance

Action Alert!

Support Open Space on the North Richmond Shoreline

Thanks to all of you who came out to Richmond City Council on Jan 10 to URGE the Council to envision greatness for its City!

And, THANKS to Mayor McLaughlin and Councilmember Beckles for remaining firmly in support of Parks and Open Space!

In spite of your eloquent pleas, it was unfortunately business as usual as Councilmembers Bates and Booze remained firm for development, with support from Ritterman. Vice Mayor Rogers remained the swing vote who prevented either side from getting a majority. Butt was recused because of a complaint from one of the property owners.

Because the Council could not agree on any of the three options, the General Plan goes back to the Planning Commission to add 'development standards'. This is a bit irregular and a possible slippery slope. This also means that the whole General Plan cannot be approved until the North Shore element is completed.

The votes:

First Vote was Option B (Motion-Booze/Bates)- Business/Industrial .25-30 FAR; 55' height maximum w/ ammendment from Ritterman to add development standards. This option allows more intense development than current zoning.
Vote: Ayes-Booze, Ritterman, Bates; Noes- Rogers, Beckles, McLaughlin.
Second Vote was Option A - Open Space, Parks and Recreation with limited development.
Vote: Ayes- Beckles, McLaughlin; Noes - Rogers, Booze, Ritterman, Bates
Third Vote was Option C Limited/Light Industrial up to .5 FAR, height 35" (current land use) + adding developing standards (Ritterman/Booze). This option is most similar to the 1993 North Richmond Specific Plan.
Vote: Ayes: Booze, Ritterman, Bates; Noes- Rogers, Beckles, McLaughlin

Rogers made the motion and Beckles second to send this back to the Planning Commission. Commissioner Bates objected. Vote: Ayes - Rogers, Beckles, McLaughlin, Ritterman;

Stay tuned for next steps-- Possibly Richmond Planning Commission on February 2.

Meanwhile, please send an email to the three Councilmembers who remain undecided about protecting the North Richmond Shoreline. Remind them ONCE AGAIN that you support parks and open space and that you will be disappointed if they do not do so:

Jeff Ritterman, or 384-1315

Jim Rogers, 867-5725

Courtland "Corky" Boozé, 234-3307

and copy Patricia Jones of Citizens for East Shore Parks

More info on the Richmond General Plan

Breuner Marsh Restoration & Public Access Project

The East Bay Regional Park District is developing a restoration and public access project at the Breuner Marsh at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline. Key project goals are to restore historic San Francisco Bay wetlands, close a key gap in the San Francisco Bay Trail and develop other public access facilities.

Preserve an open vista of the North Richmond Shoreline for generations to come. Once it’s developed, it’s gone. Urge the Council to not make the mistake of the last generation which privatized and polluted the shoreline with industrial and big box uses.

This new Richmond General Plan envisions the North Richmond Shoreline as a natural open space restored and protected to continue its historical function as vital habitat and provide enhanced opportunities for public access and recreation. This is the right thing to do.

The North Richmond shoreline, where Rheem Creek flows into San Pablo Bay, is home to millions of migrating birds. Its 500 acres of tidal marshes and 800 acres of mudflats shelter many threatened and endangered species. Just off shore is the largest eelgrass bed in SF Bay - important feeding, escape and breeding habitat for many species of invertebrates, waterfowl, and fishes. Preserving this shoreline corridor as open space offers a unique opportunity to create a visible edge to the city with stunning long views in every direction.

You can also send an email supporting parks and open space to your City Council Members: HERE!

Richmond General Plan: Read it!
Richmond DEIR: See it!

NOTE: Thanks to Citizens for East Shore Parks for their support!

Read Citizens for East Shore Parks: North Richmond rezoning could bring development to shoreline open space

The developers state their case on their Northshore Coalition website but also see Tom Butt's "Who is the Northshore Coalition and What Do They Want?" and his "Get to Know Your Local Northshore Land Speculators" - Part 1 and Part 2

The Richmond City Council is finally looking more closely at the Draft General Plan and starting to make decisions about zoning changes. Make sure the Richmond City Council adopts a plan that leaves a legacy of open space, not warehouses.

Wildcat Creek Marsh We have seen one small victory! The new General Plan specifies mostly park and recreation land uses for the derelict Terminal 4 at Point San Pablo, which will open the way for this former industrial site to be a public park. And, at the last City Council meeting, we almost saw the North Richmond Shoreline protected in a similar way. We need ONE MORE VOTE on City Council to ensure that this spectacular shoreline will be used primarily for parks and recreation.

This process is an unparalleled opportunity for a city to envision and begin to implement greatness.

Great cities not only have great architecture, great history, great streets and boulevards, but also great parks, great creeks, great shorelines, and other well protected and healthy natural features.

Richmond is blessed with the natural amenities, the history, the infrastructure, and the political will among its citizens to make it a great 21st Century city. Its 32-mile shoreline is the longest of any city along SF Bay.

We have the chance to see the North Richmond shoreline put into public ownership—to become one of the outstanding parks in the SF Bay’s necklace of shoreline parks.

How can YOU help to preserve a legacy of shoreline open space and access to all? Email YOUR Elected Officials!

Please copy the message below into your email with your personal edits & your name & address!
NOTE: If the email button below does not work properly, just send your message to info@northrichmondshoreline.org and we'll gladly forward it. Thank you!

SUGGESTED MESSAGE:

Subject: Please Protect the North Richmond Shoreline

Dear Richmond City Council,

We have an historic opportunity to create a legacy of open space and wildlife habitat along Richmond's North Shoreline. Instead of protecting poor investments of land developers at the shoreline, we should prioritize open space and recreation for all of Richmond to enjoy.

We urge you to zone this shoreline so that there will be economic value for the property owners, yet save them from building warehouses that will be under water in the near future.

Please support changing the land use on this shoreline to: (1) Open Space, (2) Parks and Recreation, (3) Public, Cultural and Institutional and (4) Agriculture into a Mixed Use called "Community Low Intensity Commerce and Recreation." Apply it to the currently undeveloped properties along the North Richmond Shoreline adjacent the Richmond Parkway.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Name & Address

Or you can write your own letter to the City and mail it to:
General Plan Update
City of Richmond Planning Department & City Council
1401 Marina Way South, Richmond, CA 94804
P: (510) 620-6500 F: (510) 620-6542

Contact Information for Richmond, California's Elected Officials
Name	Address	Phone
Gayle McLaughlin, Mayor Gayle _McLaughlin@officeofthemayor.net	P.O. Box 5284 Richmond, CA 94805	237-1256 (H/W) 237-1456 (Fax)
Jim Rogers, Councilmember elirapty@aol.com	162 Lakeshore Court Richmond, CA 94804	867-5725 (Ofc) 444-4460 (Fax)
Nathaniel Bates, Councilmember natbates@comcast.net	300 Seaview Drive Richmond, CA 94801	620-6743 (Ofc) 620-6542 (Fax)
Corky Boozé, Councilmember corkybooze@aol.com	PO Box 184, Station A Richmond, CA 94808	234-3307 501-0480 (C)
Jeff Ritterman, Councilmember jeffritterman@yahoo.com	P.O. Box 4046 Richmond, CA 94801	384-1315
Thomas K. Butt, Councilmember tom.butt@intres.com	235 East Scenic Avenue Richmond, CA 94801	236-7435 (W) 237-2084 (H)
Jovanka Beckles, Councilmember Jovanka@JovankaBeckles.org	P.O. Box 5299 Richmond, CA 94805	496-2711
Council Meetings Tuesdays, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers, 3rd Floor, City Hall. Televised on KCRT, Channel 28
Individual Email Addresses of Planning Commissioners and City Staff
Planning Commissioners Roberto Reyes: reaztlan@gmail.com Ben Choi: ben.wb.choi@gmail.com Charles Duncan: charlesgduncan@gmail.com Sheryl Lane: sherylelane@yahoo.com Jeff Lee: jefflee3@sbcglobal.net Andres Soto: adcsoto@hotmail.com Carol Teltschick-Fall: carol@wordspark.net
City Staff City Manager Bill Lindsay: bill_lindsay@ci.richmond.ca.us Planning Director Richard Mitchell: richard_mitchell@ci.richmond.ca.us
TRAC: tracbaytrail@earthlink.net

Email: info@northrichmondshoreline.org