Controversial Point Molate housing project to move forward with city council approval

Plans for the site call for about 1,450 housing units, more than 400,000 square-feet of commercial space, a fire and police station, as well as 193 acres of open space.

RICHMOND — Controversial plans to build housing on the Point Molate peninsula will move forward after the City Council on Tuesday approved various entitlements for the project and a deal with the project’s developer.

After hearing from dozens of residents who urged the Council to reject the developer’s proposal for about 1,450 housing units, more than 400,000 square-feet of commercial space and a fire and police station, the Council approved the disposition and development agreement with Winehaven Legacy, LLC — a subsidiary of development firm SunCal — as well as various entitlements for the plan and the final environmental impact report, allowing the long-debated project to go forward.

In addition to the housing and commercial real estate development, about 70 percent of the Point Molate site — 193 acres — will be reserved for public parks and open space under the plan. On the north end of the project, the plan is to rehab the large buildings and about 30 existing cottages — potentially into a “live-work village” — as the Winehaven Historical District.

With councilmember Jael Myrick absent, councilmembers Ben Choi, Demnlus Johnson, Vice Mayor Nat Bates and Mayor Tom Butt voted in favor of approving the proposal and accompanying entitlements. Councilmembers Eduardo Martinez and Melvin Willis voted against it after an initial motion by them to postpone the decision was rejected by the rest of the council.

Martinez expressed concern over the finances of the plan, worrying that with the expansion, Richmond would be among cities that “have expanded more than their capabilities.”

Residents and activists challenging the development have also questioned the financial implications of the plan, doubting that the developers would be able to sell all the homes at a high enough cost for the property tax revenue to cover the true costs of maintaining the infrastructure and staffing a fire department or other services.

The city’s consultants pushed back on that, noting that by their estimates, the city would get revenue from the project even if property values take a hit. The developer is buying the site for $45 million, which — under the terms of a court-approved settlement — the city is required to split with other developers who sued the city after the council rejected their plans to build a casino on Point Molate.

The master developer is also obligated to pay $25,000 per unit for each housing unit that’s built beyond 1,260 units. The city’s consultants estimate the project would gain the city about $29 million in one-time fees and sales costs, plus an annual $6.8 million after new city expenses are paid for.

Even if it does pencil out, some opponents of the plan said they do not want to create a community only for the wealthy on land they believe should be all publicly accessible.

Willis commented on the lack of affordable housing, noting that the development agreement requires the developer to provide only 67 units of affordable housing out of the more than 1,400 suggested as part of the plan. While city law requires more than that, based on the actual number of unit and affordability levels provided, the developer can meet those by paying in lieu fees, if they choose not to build additional affordable units.

“I’m concerned that we’re unintentionally creating a gated community if we don’t have enough affordability,” Willis said.

Opponents of the plan also expressed their concerns about the environmental implications of the project, urging the city to do a more thorough analysis of the environmental impact report.

Pam Young, of the Golden Gate Audobon Society, told the council during the public comment period that Point Molate supports over 200 bird species and “provides cost-free protection against sea level rise.”

“We need a healthy Point Molate,” she urged.

Community residents and activists opposed to the plan as part of the Point Molate Alliance have encouraged an alternative: building some commercial space, including a hotel, to promote jobs while moving housing to downtown and keeping most of Point Molate open as accessible land.

Resident Courtney Cummings pointed out that there are still human remains on the site — the former burial sites of people indigenous to the area — and that turning the area into housing will “desecrate” that.

“It’s amazing how much time and effort we’re putting into buildings that were after colonialism, yet we’re forgetting the original people of this land,” Cummings said in response to the developer’s proposal to restore the historic buildings on the site. “People do want free access to this land. I don’t see that happening.”

Mayor Butt and Vice Mayor Bates pushed back, noting that the plan would ensure about 70 percent of the site is reserved for open space.

Bates noted that under the terms of redeveloping many of the area’s former military bases and sites, there was an understanding that cities would ensure “economic development and job creation” for the areas.

Butt said currently, while there is some accessible shoreline, much of Point Molate is fenced off.

“Without a project that will create the infrastructure for these spaces, it’s never going to happen,” he said. “I don’t want to see Point Molate fenced off for another 10 years. I want to see a project that has something for everyone.”

A completed project is still years away. The transfer of the property to the developer will happen in May 2022, at the latest. And construction will happen in two phases, with the police and fire station, master infrastructure for the neighborhood of restored historic buildings and the required affordable housing required to be built in the first phase, and the rest of the housing and other construction to follow in the second phase.