City Weighs Options for Transforming the Harbor

If all goes according to schedule, 2011 will be the year the city makes some major decisions about the , starting with the water itself.

At stake is whether the harbor will continue to be used as a marina, with berths for boats, or be transformed into a park facility, with space for wildlife and waterways for paddlers and kayaks. Once that is decided, the city can move forward with its shoreline business development plans.

By February, the city expects to complete its study of alternatives for transforming the costly, aging harbor basin, and a City Council vote is expected by April 2011.

The master plan for on-shore development — including an office complex, hotel and conference center, recreational areas and retail/housing units — would be approved by the City Council next fall. Construction on the first phase of the project would begin in 2015.

The city floated three ideas for remaking the boat harbor at a pair of town hall meetings in November and at a council work session earlier this month (see attached sketches). The options are:

• Harbor Park, which would reduce the number of berths from 462 to about 200. The material from dredging the harbor would be used to create a small wildlife island near the Bay side.  This plan also includes a beach and paddle boat and/or kayak rentals.

• Aquatic Park, which would eliminate all the berths and turn the harbor into a touring area for paddle boats and kayaks. This plan includes a small berth area for hand-powered watercraft and a wildlife island.

• Nature Park, which is similar to the Aquatic Park, but with an interpretive nature center and without the small berth.

Residents who were at the town hall meetings and the city council session seemed lukewarm about any plan that doesn't involve keeping boats in the harbor.

"A marina is boats and harbors," said Audrey Albers at the Dec. 13 council meeting. "It's not a little puddle for ducks and canoes." Albers sits on the 33-member Shoreline Development Citizen Advisory Committee, a group of stakeholders who provide input to the city on marina development plans. 

Even Edward Miller, the developer retained by the city since 2008 to devise a master plan for marina development, has said he'd rather see boats in the harbor. But he has also said he can't pay for the harbor's upkeep, and city officials say it's just too expensive to continue maintenance on the public's dime.

"Keeping it as it is is not feasible," said Cynthia Battenberg, the city's business development manager, in an interview with San Leandro Patch.

The harbor must be dredged every eight to 10 years, which involves costly equipment and hauling fees. Although the federal government dredges the two-mile channel connecting the harbor to San Francisco Bay, the city has to pick up the tab for transporting dredged material to the dumpsite. This can cost up to $1.5 million.

Still, Battenberg told the City Council that Harbor Park – which would still require expensive dredging, although less of it – was the preferred option, at least for now.

"That would leave us in a situation where in 10 to 15  years we can decide if we have the revenue to have a boat harbor," she told the council. "If not, we can transition into the Aquatic Park or the Nature Park."

The compromise could prove fleeting, depending on how much the Harbor Park plan would cost. The consulting firm that drew up the harbor transformation plans, Environmental Science Associates, is expected to come up with cost estimates for each of the three plans by February. 

Jewel of San Leandro can be costly

The marina is often dubbed the "Jewel of San Leandro," and it seems to fit the bill. Ducks and geese paddle its placid waters, while sailboat masts and shiny yachts glitter in the setting sun. The metaphor also holds true for the price tag.

According to Public Works Director Michael Bakaldin, the city would need about $2 million a year to pay for dredging and improvements to keep the harbor functioning. By the middle of next year, the city is projected to have just 0.1 percent of that amount, or $2,000, in its Shoreline Enterprise Fund. The fund is comprised of revenues from the and Shoreline Recreation Area, along with income from harbor operations.

The sad state of the shoreline fund is due in part to the weak economy, and in part because of loans that have caught up with the city, mostly for dredging and harbor improvements. The shoreline fund paid out more than half a million dollars last year in loan payments for harbor operations, according to city figures.

In addition, fee revenues from the and shoreline restaurants – which lease city land – were down because those businesses fared poorly last year.   

While the harbor does generate income from renting berths and providing other services, it still ran a deficit last year of $500,000, according to city data.

Only 38 percent of the marina's berths were occupied as of October 2010. The marina has suffered a decline in occupancy rates over the years, especially for smaller berths, since more people are choosing larger boats. Also, San Leandro's marina is one of the farthest from open water among the Bay Area's 42 marinas.

At the Nov. 17 town hall meeting, Jeff Houston, a citizen advisory committee member, suggested that San Leandro residents are in the bargaining stage of grieving the imminent loss of the marina. If that's true, keeping part of the marina intact –at least for now – is the bargain. The numbers will soon show whether such a deal is feasible.   

The San Leandro Marina by the numbers: 

2: Length in miles that boats must travel from San Leandro Marina to the deep water channel that runs through the center of San Francisco Bay.

12: Percentage of San Leandro voters polled in November 2007 who said they use the boat harbor.

71: Percentage of voters polled who said they used the shoreline trails, walking paths and parcourse.

38: Boats in the harbor currently designated as live-aboards.

20: Percentage of boats in San Leandro Marina that are owned by city residents, according to a study done by the marina management four years ago. 

42: Number of marinas in the San Francisco Bay Area

Berth Vacancy Rates at the San Leandro Marina, 2003-2010

Source: San Leandro Marina