Harbor Renovation Project
Renovation of the SF Marina Yacht Harbor
BACKGROUND
The Marina Yacht Harbor is managed by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. The marina consists of two harbors. The West Harbor is bounded by Marina Boulevard and the western end of the Marina Green to the south, Yacht Road and the outer jetty to the north, the harbor entrance to San Francisco Bay to the east, and Yacht Road to the west. The west harbor covers about 1,100,000 square feet of water in the inner and outer basin combined
The East Harbor encompasses about 600,000 square feet of water and is bound by Beach Street to the south, San Francisco Bay to the north, Lower Fort Mason to the east and Marina Boulevard and Webster Street to the west. The East Harbor is also known as Gashouse Cove.
Because of many years of deferred maintenance many of the existing docks and other infrastructure have become damaged, obsolete, and in some cases dangerous.
A Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) was published on September 6, 2005. A number of hearings were held by the Planning Commission and written comments on the DEIR were submitted by a variety of individuals and organizations. The Marina Community Association submitted written comments on January 16, 2006 [ MCA Harbor Letter 2006_01_17 ] and on October 1, 2006 [ MCA Harbor Letter 2006_10_21 ]. Those comments were signed by over 100 members of the MCA and other concerned citizens.
Despite active lobbying about a number of concerns by the MCA and many other organizations, the Planning Commission approved the EIR on January 11, 2007. On January 22, 2007 the State Department of Boating and Waterways approved $6 million for the third phase of the loan for the renovation of the West Harbor. The total State loan will be $16.5 million for the West Harbor.
ISSUES
There is little disagreement that the Harbor needs to be repaired. There is much disagreement about items which may or may not be included in the work to repair the Harbor. The following is a summary some issues that have been discussed as part of the Harbor Renovation Project:
o Breakwaters. Many people are not convinced that the proposed extension to the existing breakwaters adds value. Some are concerned that the breakwater extension will be similar to the one at Crissy Field creating more problems than it solves.
o Seawalls. The safety of the existing seawalls is an acknowledged issue within the community and government. While it would be advisable to repair them while the docks are being retrofit, there is no seismic retrofit plan for the seawalls in the current project.
o Degaussing Station. The plans for this building are uncertain. The baseline scenario in the EIS assumes the Degaussing Station will be turned into the Harbor Master's office. However, that option requires a (potentually costly) seismic retrofit of part of the seawall and (potentually intrusive) nighttime lighting. Another option mentioned in the EIS would demolish the building altogether. As the EIS developed over the years, there were other proposals for the Degaussing Station - including using it as a kite store and/or making it a historical landmark.
o Commercial Use. Also over the years, there have been various proposals to increase the commercial utilization of the two Marina yacht harbors. They range from the building of a ferry pier to converting the degaussing station to a kite store already mentioned. When opposition to the ferry idea surfaced in the past, proponents suggested building the pier but not licensing it for service.
o Larger boats. While the total number of berths might not change dramatically, the baseline scenario is for the removal of approximately 282 berths suitable for small boats in order to accommodate larger boats.
o Toxic site. The east harbor and Fort Mason piers are reportedly sitting on toxic waste from prior industrial use. The liability issues and coupling of lands under both City/County and Federal jurisdictions means that this may take quite some time to unravel.
o Financial accountability. A San Francisco requirement that financial feasibility be established before a project moves forward is being bypassed. Also, as the east harbor sits in litigation limbo, funding initially believed available to renovate both harbors is now believed available to renovate the west harbor only. And, it appears that a provision allowing existing small boats to occupy large berths at reduced rates has not been fully comprehended in the financial models.
The MCA values input from its members. Please send any comments or questions on this topic to info@sfmca.org with the word "Harbor" in the subject.