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Health & Fitness

Pete's Harbor's New Owners?

As parties jockey for ownership of Pete's Harbor, Redwood City must protect the public trust.

While in attendance at the July 12 special meeting of the California State Lands Commission (SLC), Save Pete's Harbor (SPH) members heard representatives of a group calling itself "SF Bay Marinas for All" (SFBMA) state their intent to submit a lease proposal for submerged public lands at Pete's Harbor in Redwood City.[1] The group is headed by Alison Madden, a lawyer who unsuccessfully negotiated for a small group of former tenants to extract a settlement of $1.2M from the Pete's Harbor property developer, the Pauls Corporation, in January. The settlement was intended to be in exchange for dropping the fight to keep a public marina at Pete's Harbor.[2][3][4]

As the news reported,[4][5] the negotiations fell apart when the Pauls Corporation realized that Ms. Madden did not speak for Save Pete's Harbor or for many of the tenants, and that these other people would continue to advocate for a public marina as Save Pete's Harbor. Since January, SPH has continued to advocate for the preservation of a public marina at Pete's Harbor, and as the Pauls Corporation's development plans for Pete's Harbor have progressed, SPH has not partnered with Ms. Madden or SFBMA in this lease application or on any other matter.[6][7] SPH's sole objective is to guarantee that a truly public marina remains at the site, and we remain fully separate from any attempts to profit or personally gain from the taxpayer-owned public lands within the Pete's Harbor area.

The development of Pete's Harbor is clearly becoming a complex matter with two or more commercial interests which may proceed in tandem. We strongly hope the City of Redwood City realizes that new private interest in marina leasing at the Pete's Harbor area creates a need for careful planning oversight, not just in the water but on land as well. If Redwood City continues to exclude Pete's Harbor from its Inner Harbor Specific Plan, one of the only ways for the city to assure adequate public discussion for development of the land or for use of the historic marina and harbor is to provide a separate formal process for public input regarding requirements for public access to the lands adjacent to the waterways of Redwood Creek and Smith Slough.

Recently, Paula Uccelli, widow of the late Pete Uccelli who had leased the submerged public lands in Smith Slough for Pete's Harbor, made the choice to terminate those leases,[8] opening the door for SFBMA's lease application.

We at Save Pete's Harbor fully expect additional private interests to come forward with proposals to capitalize on the use of these extremely valuable public assets of a marina in Smith Slough. As parties jockey to control this valuable area, we strongly urge the City of Redwood City as well as the SLC to protect the public trust by acting diligently in the best interests of all people and boaters of California, and not simply for local or private interests.

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Background:

For half a century, the public has enjoyed excellent access to the public assets that are the navigable waters of Smith Slough in Redwood City, and the use of these taxpayer-owned, public trust submerged lands is important to the people of California, not just city residents.

Public trust lands are designated for the use and enjoyment of all the people of the United States. California's navigable waterways or "submerged lands" are part of the public trust. Here in California, the state takes on the responsibility of assuring its taxpaying residents have access to using all public trust lands, including navigable waterways.[9]

SPH knows that the City and the State can and must take on the role of upholding the public trust, especially when private or commercial interests are in conflict with the interest of the public.

SPH is a group of tenants and former tenants of Pete’s Harbor, as well as early supporters who have been helping SPH since September 2012. We are a nonprofit organization of concerned citizens whose goal is to preserve the state-owned, outer portion of Pete’s Harbor as an environmentally friendly marina open to the boating public. We are dedicated to ensuring that any development at Pete’s Harbor, such as the one currently proposed, responsibly mitigates all potential environmental impacts under CEQA and is fully compatible with a public (commercial) marina. Such impacts include the disruption of boating communities which require the building of replacement units in Redwood City to mitigate impacts to all recreational boaters, including liveaboards and cruisers.

To find out more about SPH, go to SavePetesHarbor.Net.

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