Around 30 live-aboard residents at Oyster Cove Marina in South San Francisco can move to the nearby Oyster Point Marina for one year after the Bay Conservation and Development Commission at its Sept. 15 meeting decided on the temporary solution as a humanitarian effort to offer them a place to live while they seek another place to go.
During the meeting, the BCDC made the decision after concerns were raised by liveaboard residents who felt the deadline was not enough time to find a permanent residency.
“We can have that [residency at Oyster Point Marina] for a year, in order to try and find other liveaboard slips, which is very difficult, with the understanding that we are going to do that,” said Matt Klein, a live-aboard boater at Oyster Cove Marina.
The 455-slip Oyster Point Marina is owned by South San Francisco but operated by the San Mateo County Harbor District. It is allotted 10% of its slips for live-aboard residents. The marina contains 29 liveaboards and is slated to have an additional 11 liveaboards filling the additional spots from the waitlist soon. While the proposed solution would exceed the 10% compliance for Oyster Point Marina, the BCDC said it would not enforce the issue over the next year, according to a staff report for the meeting.
South San Francisco Councilmember Mark Addiego, also a member of the BCDC, said that the goal is to help give the live-aboard residents enough time to find a permanent home.
“Even though it’s BCDC and their charge is to protect the Bay,” said Addiego. “Everybody is dialed into the fact that, ‘hey this is housing for these people and without this what’s going to happen to them?’”
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Right now they are trying to provide them with a housing opportunity with their existing boats, he added.
“Many of the live-aboard boats have expressed that they currently have no place to go and other existing marinas given the waitlist for live-aboard slips can be many months long, around the Bay Area,” said Anniken Lydon, Bay Resources Program manager.
There is concern that the live-aboard boats would be anchored out, outside of marinas, in the Bay because they have no other options. Anchoring out is dangerous to the live-aboard boaters and the environment, she added.
Staff sent a letter of intent to the city of South San Francisco and the San Mateo County Harbor District explaining the staff’s proposed approach, that Oyster Point Marina can accommodate the additional liveaboards while exceeding the 10% live-aboard allocation.
Residential uses of the Bay are not consistent with the McAteer-Petris Act or the Public Trust, because it is not a “water-oriented” use, nor is it in furtherance of Public Trust needs, according to the report.
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(1) comment
Nice to hear that the BCDC has a heart. First time
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