San Rafael, CA – The Board of the Richardson’s Bay Regional Agency (RBRA) invites all interested members of the community to participate in a workshop to explore the many issues confronting the Richardson’s Bay anchorage. The workshop will be held on the morning of Saturday, March 14th, at the Bay Model in Sausalito, from 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM.
Richardson Bay, home to boats, boaters, and marine wildlife, remains a scenic part of our maritime heritage and has provided safe anchorage for boats for over a century. Today, it is one of the last remaining anchorages in San Francisco Bay. Redwood City cleared its sloughs of anchored vessels in 1997. The closure of the Alviso Slough followed, then Clipper Cove at Treasure Island, the delta shore of Contra Costa County and most recently, the Oakland Estuary in 2013.
Richardson’s Bay has seen an increasing number of vessels arrive as other anchorages around the bay have closed, and the impacts of the economic downturn have contributed to a dramatic increase in the number of abandoned and derelict vessels.
In a 2008 survey, RBRA counted 98 vessels in the anchorage. Between 2008 and 2014, RBRA abated 484 derelict or abandoned vessels. Nonetheless, in 2014, there were 205 vessels on the anchorage, a 209% increase over 2008.
The impacts to human health and safety, to the environment, and to the budgets of the organizations and communities that are affected by this influx are significant and growing with each passing year. In response to considerable public and staff input, the RBRA Board recognizes that it is time to take a comprehensive look at current practices for the management of the anchorage.
This facilitated workshop will gather diverse members of the Richardson Bay community to explore the many issues affecting Richardson’s Bay and the people who live and work on and around the anchorage. The Board seeks community input from all stakeholders to prioritize the issues and work together to seek solutions.
The Richardson’s Bay Regional Agency is a Joint Powers Authority, formed in 1985 to manage the anchorage that is bordered by Sausalito, Mill Valley, Tiburon, Belvedere and the County of Marin. An elected member from each jurisdiction sits on the RBRA Board, which is chaired by Marin County Supervisor Kate Sears. Learn more at www.rbra.ca.gov.