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Albany Beach "RaceTrack" Proposed Plan to jepordize kiters access  - Upcoming Activities, recent plan PDF and draft SFBA letter

5/22/2017

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Attention kiteboarders who launch at Albany Beach next to the race track.  
The East Bay Regional Park District has proposed a project which would eliminate the current rigging area and most of the current parking.  

There are several activities coming up that may well decide if Albany Beach remains viable as a site to launch kites:
  • May 24 at 7:00pm, Berkeley Yacht Club in Berkeley Marina - SFBA and local kiteboarders meet on to discuss the latest revisions to the site plan and develop an approach for the next two meetings.  The meeting will be hosted by Jim McGrath.
  • June 2, 2017 at the Coastal Conservancy offices in downtown Oakland -Review of the project by the Coastal Conservancy, a funding agency, at a meeting of the Water Trail Implementation Group.  
  • Monday, June 5 at 5:30 p.m.,Bay Area Metro Center, 375 Beale Street San Francisco Yerba Buena, First Floor  -The district's plan will be reviewed by BCDC's Design Review Board.  

Below (if you are on mobile scroll all the way down) please find the most recent plan and a draft response letter by SFBA laying out our concerns.
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Albany beach ("RaceTrack") call to action

5/9/2017

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0417albanybeachex.pdf
File Size: 6965 kb
File Type: pdf
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ALBANY BEACH (Known as "RaceTrack" to bay area Kiters) CALL TO ACTION

Two important events for kiters are coming up, and it is critical for the users of Albany Beach ("RaceTrack") to be well represented:
  • City Hall Discussion - on May 16, 2017, 6:30-7:30 pm, at the Albany City Hall 100 San Pablo Avenue, is to discuss the East Bay Regional Park District’s plans for beach restoration and the Bay Trail. 
  • BCDC Design Review Board Meeting - on June 5, at the Bay Area Metro Center, 375 Beale Street Yerba Buena, San Francisco, First Floor
  • These two meetings are crucial for making sure that the Park District’s design enhances, rather than detracts from access for kiteboarding. Kiters - Please be there to represent the kite community, or there is risk of diminished access on the racetrack 
More Information
There are two issues that are critical to the kiteboarding community.  First, there are some groups in Albany that are opposed to the amount of parking proposed.  While 20 new spaces are proposed, in addition to the 40 spaces now available on Buchanan Street, only 13 of those spaces are available for the length of time kiters and kayakers would be out on the Bay.  Second, while the design proposes to enlarge the beach, it also proposes to fence off a section of the dunes with a 4 foot-high fence that might prove to be hazardous to the launching of kites.  

Now for a little more background.  There are folks who have opposed the designation of Albany Beach for access to the Bay.  Norman LaForce of the Sierra Club joined with another group to sue the park district, arguing that kite boarding and windsurfing would destroy eel grass.  Ultimately they lost that lawsuit.  Second, there is a group called Albany Strollers and Rollers that appears to oppose parking.  They have an article on the upcoming meeting http://www.albanystrollroll.org/event/public-meeting-on-albany-bay-trail-and-beach-restoration/?instance_id=8206

Third, we missed the first meeting of the Design Review Board of BCDC, and should follow up with the staff.  The meeting was held April 17, and the staff report can be found here:  http://www.bcdc.ca.gov/drb/2017/0417AlbanyBeach.pdf.  It would be helpful if you reached out to Andrea Gaffney (415-352-3643) and talk with her about how that meeting went and what our concerns are.
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