How did Berkeley's Waterfront fall on Such Hard Times
- Moderator
- Nov 3
- 4 min read
An analysis by Jim McGrath
In 1986, the city of Berkeley adopted a plan to preserve the waterfront, finding:
The people of the City of Berkeley find that it is in the public interest to preserve and protect the open space, views, wetlands, tidal mudflats, seasonal ponds, wetlands-type environment, creeks, meadows, beaches and the low density character of the unique and irreplaceable waterfront area of the City, being all that land in the City of Berkeley generally adjacent to San Francisco Bay and lying west of Interstate Highway 80 and east of Marina Boulevard. (emphasis added)
Voters in the city adopted an initiative that gave more teeth to these findings, requiring that “no public parks … or public open space … owned … by the City of Berkeley … shall be used for any other purpose … [without]…citizens … approval … “ That measure also called for continued and adequate funding.
Berkeley took steps to fulfill the promise in their ordinance, closing the old landfill and opening it as North Waterfront Park in 1991. It was renamed Cesar Chavez Park in 1996. Yet today some of the roads at the waterfront are nearly impassable, and methane levels and contaminated groundwater restrict what can occur on that park. The waterfront now needs at least $94 million for deferred maintenance, and the $7 million annual income of the marina is not sufficient to pay for annual maintenance and repairs. Despite the lack of maintenance, 1,800,000 people visited the marina in 2024, nearly half the number that visited Yosemite Park. How did this happen and what can we do to fix it?
There are three parks in the waterfront, and the city has not funded maintenance of those parks from the general fund or the parks tax. In about 2003, the city stopped using the parks tax, which generated more than $17 million in 2024, to maintain the marina parks. It is not clear how much money has been diverted from maintaining the assets of the marina, most likely more than $20 million.
Berkeley Pier, which once served 100,000 anglers a year and countless strollers who wanted to get out onto the Bay, was closed in 2015.
H’s Lordships Restaurant closed in 2018. The current negotiating agreement would provide no lease revenue for five years. Since the building needs extensive repairs, it may be more than a decade before the facility provides any new revenue to the marina fund.
Economic studies completed about 2019, before the pandemic, concluded that the marina might be able to attract another small hotel and another restaurant. But that development was estimated to only increase revenue by about $600,000, not enough to begin addressing the backlog of deferred maintenance. Since that time, over a dozen hotels in the East Bay have closed and the Double Tree hotel stopped making lease payments in November, 2024. In some years, the hotel contributed more than $3.5 million to the city’s general fund and relies on its location in the marina for its market appeal.
Work is underway at the landfill to repair the methane collection system and characterize groundwater contamination. The total cost of resolving those concerns, and the potential for improved access and habitat restoration is not yet clear.
Berkeley has rebuilt part of University Avenue, largely using funds from Measure T1 and the Double Tree hotel. A $15 million grant from the Coastal Conservancy has been used to make some of the most pressing repairs.
The city has covered the shortfall in marina revenues with Inflation Reduction Act revenues and the general fund. Neither are available for the current budget.
Berkeley voters approved an increase in the parks tax in 2024 that will allow the parks tax to again be used to maintain waterfront parks. This is expected to provide about $1.5 million in annual revenue and eliminate the structural deficit for maintenance but is not sufficient to develop a capital program to begin eliminating the $94 million (or more) in deferred maintenance.
WHAT NOW?
It is imperative that the city follow through on the promise it made when in May 10, 2022, Berkeley adopted this policy, which relates directly to the task at hand, and directed that this policy should be implemented at the waterfront:
The City of Berkeley is committed to implementing best asset management practices in order to provide quality services to the community. As stewards of the City’s critical infrastructure, facilities and equipment, the Public Works and Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Departments must seek to employ asset management practices to ensure these various assets are maintained and replaced in an economical and sustainable manner.
To meet this promise, the City must prepare a plan for the marina that reflects current market conditions and the fact that boating revenues will remain the predominant source of revenue. It must also consider why the even larger group of non-boaters visits the marina, and what they could contribute to the recovery of one of Berkeley’s most marvelous spaces.
