Docktown Marina Update

Update as of November 16, 2023

This blog provides an update on Docktown Marina. The City is legally required to end residential uses at Docktown Marina and is working to meet that obligation. Recently, the City has reached settlement agreements with additional residential tenants who have moved, or are in the process of moving, out of Docktown. Four tenants remain, and the City is continuing to propose settlement agreements with these tenants.

The City is also defending claims brought by the Hannig Environmental Research Organization and its counsel, Hannig Law LLP, regarding the City’s management of the Docktown Marina. In the next year, the City anticipates evaluating future public uses of the Docktown Marina as part of comprehensive planning for public open space and amenities in the Inner Harbor area.

Why is the City Ending Residential Uses at Docktown Marina?

Ending residential uses at Docktown Marina is required in order for the City to meet its legal obligation to allow full public access to the land on which the marina is located. The City serves as a trustee for the State lands on which the Marina is located. In that role, the City must ensure that use of these lands is in accordance with the statutes which granted the land to the City, State Lands Commission policies, and the public trust doctrine. The State’s intent is for all California residents to have access to public trust lands, and the State Lands Commission and the California Attorney General have declared that continued leasing of slips at Docktown for residential use violates the granting statutes and the common law public trust doctrine. The statutes and common law public trust doctrine are referenced in the June 19, 2015 Attorney General letter released by the State Lands Commission and available here.

Did the City Explore Any Alternatives to Ending Residential Uses at Docktown?

Yes. The City approached the State Lands Commission to grandfather all residential uses in both 2005 and 2016. This would have helped all tenants at Docktown. The City also attempted to swap land in order to provide a location for liveaboard uses, but the State Lands Commission did not support this option. Then the City attempted a 15-year extension to give tenants more time to relocate from Docktown. That effort was not successful. The City then developed a plan for a yearlong relocation process, the Docktown Plan, that included financial assistance in the form of moving expenses, incentive payments for tenants desiring to move more quickly, and vessel acquisition and payments for tenants desiring to sell their property to the City. The plan also included financial aid for people with special needs, including seniors, veterans, and low-income individuals; and relocation advice and assistance in finding replacement housing.

How Has the City Assisted Tenants Impacted by Ending Residential Uses at Docktown Marina?

When efforts to allow tenants to remain at Docktown were unsuccessful, the City outlined (in the Final Docktown Plan) a process for evaluating the needs of each Docktown resident and providing reasonable relocation assistance, consistent with the City’s goals of equity and providing affordable housing assistance.

After considering significant community input, the City Council voted to approve the Final Docktown Plan in December 2016. This Plan outlined the City relocation assistance options available to Docktown Marina residents, including assistance finding new housing (either on land or at marinas), reimbursement of moving costs, reimbursement of costs to list the property for sale, and counseling services. Individuals who are disabled, seniors, or veterans are eligible to receive additional financial assistance under the Plan. More information about Docktown, benefits provided to tenants, and the process to adopt the Docktown Plan is available at www.RedwoodCity.org/Docktown.

The City has worked to implement the Docktown Plan since 2016. This has included providing relocation assistance, including property acquisition, to 67 tenants and sub-tenants at a cost of $17.7 million. The City has also spent $3.9 million in professional services, capital costs and legal expenses associated with the Docktown Plan. These costs total $21.6 million to date. The City has also spent approximately $4.9 million in operating and maintaining Docktown Marina over the last nine years.

What Are Future Plans for the Docktown Marina?

The City has not made any plans for the future of the Docktown Marina. Since 1945, the City of Redwood City has served as a trustee for the land on which the Docktown Marina is located. This only includes the land under the creek, not the land-based property adjacent to the creek. In this role, the City owns the creek area on behalf of the citizens of California. The City must ensure that the land is used in accordance with the statutes that granted the land to the City as well as with the California Constitution, applicable case law, and the common law Public Trust Doctrine.

In the next year, the City anticipates evaluating future public uses of the Docktown Marina as part of comprehensive planning for public open space and amenities in the Inner Harbor area.