The Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA) City Council members and their collaborators who continue to pursue litigation over Point Molate have worked hard to delay and ultimately attempt to stop the current plan to convey Point Molate to Winehaven Legacy LLC (SunCal) for development. They are so focused and obsessed on fighting housing development that they seem to have lost track of the fact that we have exactly four months from today to consummate that sale, or the Guidiville Tribe and Upstream will have the right to purchase all of the developable areas for $400! That is looking every passing day like the most likely scenario.

That would leave the City of Richmond with the 70 percent open space but no funding to improve or operate it. There would be no shoreline park, no fire or police station, no stormwater control, no infrastructure, no reduction of fire risk, no jobs and no new taxes.

Once Guidiville and Upstream purchase the property for $400, they have a wide range of options. They could pursue the development described by the current General Plan and Zoning, or, as a sovereign entity, Guidiville could take the land into trust and plan an entirely different development without any City oversight. There is even a scenario where Guidiville could resubmit their Indian Lands Claim, secure approval, and build a casino after all.

In any event, the City will have far less control over the use of the property than we currently have and may benefit far less financially from its eventual sale.

Be careful what you wish for.