HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE OF THE BERKELEY WATERFRONT
Give input at online community meeting

Berkeley, California (Wednesday, January 27, 2021) - Help inform a plan to ensure the Berkeley Marina remains a vibrant resource for future generations at an online community meeting Thursday, January 28.

Berkeley's waterfront sets our city apart. But the future of this treasured resource is in jeopardy due to aging infrastructure, environmental threats such as sea level rise, and financial challenges. We're creating a plan to make the Marina ecologically and financially sustainable while continuing to provide high quality recreation and environmental stewardship for decades to come, and we want your feedback.

An uncertain future

The Berkeley Marina sits on State-owned property, which the City of Berkeley has authority to develop and operate via a land grant from the California State Lands Commission. This unique resource is supported through a specific "enterprise" fund, separate from the tax revenues that support day-to-day City services.

The Marina Fund has operated at a structural deficit for twenty years, meaning that the costs to operate this resource are greater than the revenue brought in through berth rentals, hotel and restaurant taxes, and fees from other waterfront activities. The fund's decline has been hastened by COVID-19, as hotel and restaurant revenues have plummeted due to the pandemic.

Compounding these challenges, the Marina has over $100 million in unfunded capital needs, including dock replacement, road and parking lot repaving, harbor dredging, and the restoration of the iconic Berkeley Pier.

To preserve this resource for generations to come, the City needs to find new ways to generate revenue at the Marina.

Share your ideas at a community meeting

Learn more and help chart our path forward at an online community meeting:

Thursday, January 28, 6:30-8:30pm
Join on Zoom: Meeting ID: 933 7346 7062
Call-in: (669) 900-6833 ; Meeting ID: 933 7346 7062

Staff will provide an overview of the planning process, discuss this project's scope and goals, share what we've heard from community members so far, and delve deeper into the challenges facing the Marina.

We'll be looking for your feedback on a number of possible approaches to bringing in more revenue, including building another hotel, adding restaurants, or starting ferry service to San Francisco. After the presentation, we'll break into smaller groups where community members can share their feedback and concerns with the different proposals, and offer their own ideas.

Specific plan development is a two-year process

This is the first of four large community meetings we'll host during the two-year planning process. It will build on a community engagement process that began in October in a series of small focus groups with Marina stakeholders, including boaters, businesses, and recreational users.

This process will culminate in the adoption of a Berkeley Marina Area Specific Plan by the City Council, which will be used to guide operations and development at the waterfront for the next several decades. The Plan will include policies and implementation strategies related to four primary goals: fiscal sustainability, addressing infrastructure needs, supporting community needs, and adapting to climate change.

Learn more about this project in an off-agenda memo sent by City Manager Dee Williams-Ridley to the City Council in December.

If you're not able to attend on Thursday, you can submit comments by email to bmasp@cityofberkeley.info. 

###

Keep up with City of Berkeley news via our News page, email or Follow @CityofBerkeley .