In what appears to be genuine act of philanthropy, Chevron has agreed to donate 1.5 miles of Bay Trail easements on the western side of the Point San Pablo Peninsula to East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD). This afternoon, the EBRPD Board of Directors voted to accept Chevron's generous donation and appropriated $100,000 for trail alignment engineering, surveying and title costs.

Referring to the attached media release, the two easements are north of the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge between (1) the I-580 corridor and Point Molate Beach and (2) the City of Richmond's Point Molate property and its derelict former Terminal 4 property at Point San Pablo.  (The agreement does not include Chevron land between the City's Point San Pablo property and the Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor as suggested by the media release.)   

Chevron and EBRPD deserve great kudos for this major step toward completing the San Francisco Bay Trail on the Point San Pablo Peninsula.

Three additional easements are required before the San Francisco Bay Trail may be constructed between Point Richmond and the Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor as planned:

1.  UP and BNSF historic Belt Line and Castro Point railroad easements over the above Chevron fee title lands,

2. Chevron land on south side of I-580 to provide safe Bay Trail access between Point Richmond and the existing trail under the bridge, and

3. Chevron land between the City's Point San Pablo property and the Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor.

For more information, contact TRAC Steering Committee

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tracbaytrail@earthlink.net

phone/fax 510-235-2835

http://www.pointrichmond.com/baytrail/

http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/TRAC

http://www.explorerichmondca.com/baytrail.htm

Following is Chevron’s press release:

Chevron Donates Easement To East Bay Regional Park District for Bay Trail

(Please also see attached document which is the official Joint News Release in pdf form)

Chevron is joining efforts with the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) to expand public access to Richmond’s Point San Pablo Peninsula along the San Pablo Bay. Chevron agreed to donate an easement over a portion of its property to allow EBRPD to construct, operate and maintain a public multi-use recreational trail along the shoreline. 

At its upcoming November 3 board meeting, the EBRPD Board of Directors will formally accept the trail easement donation from Chevron located near its refinery operations in West Contra Costa County.

The proposed easement donation consists of two segments: a southern segment beginning at the foot of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and running north to the former U.S. Naval Fuel Depot at Point Molate; and a northern segment, which runs north of the former depot past Point Orient to a point just south of Point San Pablo Yacht Club.

EBRPD’s 1997 Master Plan identifies the San Pablo peninsula as a location for a regional park at Point Molate, and the San Francisco Bay Trail Plan shows a Bay Trail spur running along the shoreline of the San Pablo peninsula.  

“Chevron’s generous donation goes a long way to supporting the Park District’s interests in expanding the Bay Trail and providing more public access to the Richmond shoreline.” said Pat O’Brien, EBRPD General Manager. 

The 20-foot wide easement which totals about 1.5 miles covers shoreline portions of Chevron’s refinery property following the former Richmond Beltline Railroad/Castro Point Railway corridor.  EBRPD and Chevron have been working together for several years to secure access to this important but previously unavailable parcel to extend the Bay Trail.  “With Chevron’s help, the Richmond community will have more trail access and future open space parkland along the waterfront, which has long been a part of the Park District’s master plan,” said Bob Doyle, Assistant General Manager of Land Acquisition and Advanced Planning.    

The 1988 Measure AA included funding for the acquisition of key parcels for a park and trail at this location. 

This segment of the San Francisco Bay Trail crosses various ownerships, including property owned by the City of Richmond and Chevron.  EBRPD and Chevron both recognize that some of the former railroad right-of-way may no longer be suitable for construction of the trail, with portions of the corridor having subsided over time.  Chevron has agreed to cooperate with EBRPD to develop a mutually acceptable realignment of the trail, as close to the original corridor alignment as physically possible, in order to provide safe use of the trail and to maximize the visual enjoyment for trail users. 

“This contribution by Chevron brings us all one step closer to enjoying the recreational opportunities made possible by the Bay Trail,” said Mike Coyle, General Manager of Chevron’s Richmond Refinery. “We believe that working together with all key partners helps move the project toward completion. Chevron remains fully supportive of the Bay Trail, a valued Bay Area natural resource. We believe that there is reason for optimism for a timely completion of the spur trail along the beautiful waterfront from Point Richmond to Point San Pablo.”

“The District acknowledges Chevron’s cooperation and generosity in providing this trail easement at no cost to the public,” said General Manager O’Brien.  Chevron’s donation will offer opportunities for public access to the scenic San Pablo Bay shoreline with unobstructed views of the San Pablo Bay, the Brothers Islands, Red Rock Island, the Sisters Islands and vistas of Marin County including the Tiburon peninsula, Mt. Tamalpais, China Camp State Park, Angel Island State Park and portions of the San Francisco Bay.

EBRPD will be responsible for all costs associated with the trail, including the cost to engineer trail alignment, surveying and title costs estimated to be $100,000. 

Contacts:

Shelly Lewis, Public Affairs, East Bay Regional Park District, 510-544-2208, slewis@ebparks.org

Brent Tippen, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Chevron Products Company, 510 242 4700 Brent.Tippen@chevron.com