Today, the Winehaven Trust filed a Complaint for Injunctive Relief and Violations of the Municipal Code (Click here) for failing to maintain the historic structures making up the Winehaven Historic District at Point Molate. The defendants are the City of Richmond and Point Molate Futures, LLC.

From 2018 until 2022, the expectation was that the City would sell the Winehaven parcels to a developer, ultimately SunCal, who would have been required to rehabilitate and preserve the historic Winehaven structures. In 2022, the City Council pulled the plug on the SunCal project, leaving the future of Winehaven in limbo.

Prior to Prohibition, Winehaven was the largest winery in the world and the epicenter of the California wine industry. Until selling the Winehaven parcels to Point Molate Futures, LLC, for $400 in 2022, the City of Richmond was not a good steward of these irreplaceable cultural assets, and with the new owner, they are continuing to deteriorate.

It is hoped that the Court will intervene and compel the City of Richmond and Point Molate Futures, LLC, to protect, maintain and preserve these irreplaceable assets that are important not only the City of Richmond but to the entire State of California.

Figure 3 - The entry stairs and porch of this cottage are significantly deteriorated and vandalized