State agency seeks cleanup of Benicia boat yard; meeting in San Francisco planned for Thursday

By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

The Bay Conservation and Development Commission’s interest in cleaning up the debris that sits offshore at West C Street has been a hot local topic lately. But what is the BCDC?

The agency is a 27-member panel, of which five are appointed by the governor; one each is chosen by several other state officials, committees and other agencies; another nine are selected by the supervisors from each of the nine Bay Area counties; four are chosen by the Association of Bay Area Governments; one is picked by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and one is named by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Its jurisdiction is Bay Area open water, including marshlands and mudflats, in the San Francisco Bay, Suisun, San Pablo, Honker, Richardson, San Rafael, San Leandro and Grizzly bays, and the Carquinez Strait.

It also is responsible for the first 100 feet inland from the Bay shorelines, the Suisun Marsh area below the 10-foot contour line, parts of most of the area’s creeks, rivers, sloughs and other tributaries that flow into the San Francisco Bay, as well as salt ponds, duck hunting preserves, game refuges and other managed wetlands that have been separated by dikes from the San Francisco Bay.

It regulates filling and dredging in those areas, and new development within the first 100 feet inland of the Bay.

The agency also protects the Suisun Marsh, the largest remaining California wetland, and administers the federal Coastal Zone Management Act in its governing area. It also participates in the state’s oil spill prevention and response planning program.

Phil Joy, owner of the West C Street boat yard since 2005, has worked with the BCDC and other state agencies to clean up the waters near the boat yard and beyond. He said last week he wasn’t surprised by the reaction of local arttists who don’t want some of the debris — namely the Red Baron, an abandoned fishing boat, and a barge bearing a large yellow crane — removed. He said he frequently sees them painting the waterfront scenes, including the old boats and barges.

In addition, those old boats and barges have served as a breakwater for years, protecting vessels in the boat yard from the brunt of the strait’s strong wave action.

Joy said is worried that a proposed sea wall to replace the debris wouldn’t be put in place quickly, should those boats and barges get pulled out. Without that protection, he has said, he can’t put boats in the boat yard.

Meanwhile, the artists and others may attend the BCDC’s Thursday meeting in San Francisco.

“This scene is important to Benicia’s uniqueness, and the residents treasure its view and historic waterway connection,” Sue Wilson, an Alamo artist, said.

She said the “Friends of the Red Baron,” who would like to keep the rustic scene intact, have been talking with both the BCDC and CalRecycle, and said, “They view all old piers and marine vessels as ‘abandoned’ and ‘debris’ that should be taken out and discarded. They see no value, only harm.”

She said the Friends of the Red Baron value the agencies’ work to clean up the Bay waters, “where there is documented danger.”

She said representatives of both agencies have said the West C Street site has experienced extensive cleanup already, and said the artists and other residents are asking BCDC and CalRecycle to collaborate on a plan to save the vessels.

“For many Benicians, the remaining sea structures are not abandoned,” she said.

“The Red Baron, the Spudes pile driver and yellow crane are attractions to many who live and visit Benicia,” she said. “They are not abandoned in viewers’ hearts and memories; they are honored for what they represent.”

BCDC will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday in the Port of San Francisco board room on the second floor of the Ferry Building in San Francisco.

The commission has a 15-minute period early in the meeting for members of the public to speak for three minutes or less on items that are not on that meeting’s agenda. The commission recommends submitting comments prior to the meeting, and hears speakers in the order of signup.

Its website is bcdc.ca.gov.