The next step in Richmond’s quest to develop the Point Molate area comes before the City Council on the night of Oct. 2, prospective approval of a short list of qualified developers of this key 270-acre property north of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.
Tuesday night’s approval of a small number of prospective developers is expected to be followed by a Dec. 11 meeting to hear Point Molate Development Proposal presentations.
These are the latest steps in what has been a process that started in 1997, but is now guided by a fast-track schedule after the end of a court battle that was settled in April.
The lawsuit was filed in 2011 by Upstream Point Molate, LLC and the Guidiville Rancheria, a Pomo tribe based in Mendocino County, after Richmond turned down a proposed casino at Point Molate. A federal judge said no to the casino, but required that any profits from development there be split between the city and the casino developers.
The judge also imposed a tight timeline for development approvals—April 2020.
The Point Molate Reuse Plan calls for 670 residential units and preservation of at least 70 percent of the 270 acres at Point Molate, a onetime U.S. Navy fuel depot, as open space. Those numbers are still open to change.
Tuesday’s meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. inside the Community Services Building, 440 Civic Center Plaza in Richmond.
