RBRA and Sausalito City Council at Loggerheads

When is a boat considered junk? | post by Teddie Hathaway | photo by Jenny Stein

Anchorage Discussions Continue

At the Sausalito City Council meeting January 26 much of the agenda was about dealing with the anchorage in the bay. Lt. Bill Fraass, Sausalito Police Department’s marine officer, presented a two-part plan to deal with the Richardson Bay anchorage. Although there was no discussion about the budget necessary to implement the plan, the council voted to begin phase one: removal of the unoccupied junk boats in Sausalito’s waters.

At the Richardson’s Bay Regional Agency (RBRA) meeting, on February 11, discussion centered on the anchorage as well. There seemed to be some insecurity on the part of the RBRA staff about the continuing viability of the RBRA (which has jurisdiction over the entire bay) if the separate jurisdictions decide to handle the anchorage issues on their own, as Sausalito appears ready to do. They feel not only will it be more expensive but also less effective because the boats could simply jump from the waters of one jurisdiction to another.

A committee of residents in the anchorage conducted a study to determine just how extensive the issue is. They reported that although the RBRA has indicated there are 209 boats in the anchorage, the day the committee counted there were 243 boats and 143 residents (although some residents are two or more on a boat). There are a significant number of boats that are unoccupied (so-called junk boats), although there is no specific count of how many, and no specific definition of exactly what constitutes a junk boat.

CLICK HERE to see the recent Channel 7 news coverage of this topic.

Look for further updates as they develop.