Embedded Files
Building connection among Berkeley blue-space users
The Green Flash, Image courtesy of Paul Kamen
Mission
Mission
There are many communities of waterfront users at the Berkeley waterfront - dog walkers, sailors, boatowners, kayakers, swimmers, families coming to picnic, school kids on field trips to Adventure Playground and Shorebird Park, fishers along the shoreline, and sunset seekers to view one of the most iconic images in California. BWCC’s goal is to develop projects that raise awareness of these groups - including historical perspectives - and enhance the sense of community at the Berkeley waterfront.
Recreational Activities
Recreational Activities
Kayaking (see UC Aquatics Center for rentals)
Bay Area Sea Kayakers and sea kayaking classes
Dog walking
Fishing
What should an Environmental Impact Report to put a ferry at the waterfront cover? In May, BWCC submitted this document in response to the city's request for scoping suggestions. This is a proposal separate from an option of repairing and reopening the pier, as advocated by the Save the Pier group, to what it was before the July 2015 closure (10 years already, can you believe?). The WETA-Ferry plan would replace the existing 3000' pier (how it was before closure) with a 580' pier and ferry terminal (see Jack London terminal for general idea) and a breakwater, with the city possibly extending it another 500'.
Big issues:
-Will the city use the reduced use of waterfront caused by pier closure and parking lot closures as baseline for calculating impacts?
-Will alternative plans be entertained?
-What evidence is there of "secondary benefits" of this plan?
-How will migratory fish and bird and now harbor porpoise habitat be affected?
-Will affordable open space access cease to exist?
Please contact us if you have any comments or would like to participate in giving written or oral public comments to the Environmental Impact Report, scheduled to come out at sometime in Spring 2026. Public comment periods are time-limited, so any preparation we can do beforehand is very useful.
Other News
Other News
Public Access Issues
Public Access Issues
12/11/2025 BWCC has sent this communication to the Bay Conservation and Development Commission asking for their review of parking fee plan for the South Cove and J/K dock lots which provide access to the baitshop, Adventure Playground, bay viewing and watersport recreation in the south basin. After review of related planning documents, BWCC expressed concerns that:
The City of Berkeley is installing parking meter infrastructure without proper BCDC review and in violation of the grant guidelines for the Berkeley waterfront marina and parks.
This effort, undertaken without meaningful community input, disproportionately burdens low-income visitors and substantially reduces low-cost shoreline access for recreation, community-building and personal well-being.
The plan is an example of piecemealing a larger project to facilitate approval of the ferry and development proposals which have been neither reviewed nor approved, with potentially major impacts on public access.
The impact affects not only Berkeley residents but also many regional visitors who would visit but for the parking fees in key recreational areas, so that the policy discriminates against non-Berkeley residents, contrary to public trust requirements.
Plans to alienate revenue from the parking fees, even if minimal, from the waterfront violates the public trust mandate for this shoreline.
Read the letter for details and stay tuned to find out about BCDC's response.
Photo collections
Photo collections
Courtesy of Paul Kamen
https://people.well.com/user/pk/waterfront/photo-of-the-week/PhotoIndex.html
https://people.well.com/user/pk/waterfront/photo-of-the-week/Sorted-List.htm
Courtesy of Camille Antinori
Links to City Meetings and Offices
Links to City Meetings and Offices
Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Commission
Berkeley City Council: council@berkeleyca.gov
City Manager: CManager@berkeleyca.gov
Marina office: Marina@berkeleyca.gov or 510-981-6742 (after hours maintenance: 510-649-5892)
Questions?
Questions?
Contact: camilleantinori @ duck dot com
A Berkeley Partners for Parks affiliate
Donations to BWCC can be sent to Berkeley Partners for Parks, PO Box 12521, Berkeley, CA 94712. Please make check payable to Berkeley Partners for Parks and be sure to put "Berkeley Waterfront Community Coalition" in the memo field of the check.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse