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Health & Fitness

DID YOU KNOW That Public Trust Lands Are Available For Residential Lease at Sandy Beach in Vallejo?

     According to the State Lands Commission cover email obtained through a public records act request they wrote an "informational"  letter to the City of Redwood City regarding acceptable uses of the granted lands the City has.  A couple of items from the letter:

“Commission staff strongly urges the City to take this opportunity to have the houseboats removed from sovereign land in order to come into compliance with the City’s granting statues and The Public Trust.”

“Traditionally, public trust uses were limited to water-related commerce, navigation, and fishing.  In more recent years, however, the California Supreme Court has held that the Public Trust embraces the right of the public to use the navigable waters of the state for bathing, swimming, boating and general recreational purposes.  The Court has also held that the Public Trust is sufficiently flexible to encompass changing public needs...”
 
“Based on advice from the State Attorney’s Office, Commission staff have consistently taken the position that residential use of sovereign lands, such as the floating community at Docktown, is inconsistent with the Public Trust.”

     However as my neighbor, Lee Callister, discovered in Vallejo things are a bit different.  In Vallejo’s case here are some excerpted documents:

http://archives.slc.ca.gov/Meeting_Summaries/2005_Documents/12-08-05/Items/120805C60.pdf

“It is the staff’s position, supported by advice from the staff of the Attorney General, that residential use is not consistent with the Public Trust under which the Commission holds State-owned sovereign lands, and should be permitted at Sandy Beach only to the extent it now exists.”

Grandfathering??

“Authorize issuance to Alan and Linda Barker of a general lease –recreational and residential use beginning December 8th, 2005 for a term of 20 years, for reconstruction of house and deck on the land described in Exhibit A.”

http://archives.slc.ca.gov/Meeting_Transcripts/2013_Documents/09-20-13_Transcripts.pdf

(Speaking Ms. Jennifer Lucchesi, Executive Officer) "Commission staff recently held a public meeting on June 19th for the residents of the Sandy Beach community, which is a small waterfront community near the City of Vallejo along the Carquinez Strait. Staff is continuing its efforts to ensure that those occupying State property are brought under lease with the Commission."

"Of the 40 improved lots at Sandy Beach, 37 have improvements that encroach onto State property. We only have currently six active leases and seven additional ones are in holdover. So we think there's a tremendous amount progress that can be made in terms of bringing these folks under lease.” 

  Why are residential leases not only being allowed but in fact actively encouraged on Public Trust lands (waters) at Sandy Beach?  Why isn't there any discussion of grandfathering the existing floating community that now exists at Docktown?    What is the difference between Docktown and Sandy Beach?  The agenda of the City of Redwood City?


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