Docktown residents blast relocation plan
Price tag for moving residents out of Redwood City marina more than doubles to $20.8 million
Some Docktown Marina residents have criticized Redwood City officials for continuing to work on a plan to relocate them despite a handful of pending lawsuits that may allow them to stay.
City staff told the City Council on Monday that the Docktown Plan for relocating residents, estimated to cost $10.2 million in February 2016, is now expected to cost $20.8 million.
The plan proposes to help owners of live-aboard boats and floating homes by covering their moving expenses, providing incentive payments for leaving early or buying some of the vessels.
Of the 70 tenants and subtenants living at the marina, 27 have relocated and 31 have accepted a relocation plan. The remaining 12 have not agreed to relocate before a Feb. 28 deadline. The deadline is June 30 for families with schoolaged children.
The plan was sparked by a lawsuit filed in 2015 by attorney Ted Hannig, who lives near the marina. His suit accuses the city of violating the public trust by allowing people to live in vessels at the marina. The city is the trustee for Docktown, which is on state property.
The city currently faces five legal challenges over Docktown.
For instance, residents are disputing the state attorney general’s backing of Hannig’s lawsuit by arguing that residential uses at the marina don’t comply with the city’s legislative authority or public trust doctrine.
“We’re doing all of this over one piece of paper from the attorney general that is an opinion, not a fact,” said Docktown resident Aimee Groce. “Nowhere does it state that it is illegal to live on the water.”
“I am against the closure of Docktown, because I don’t believe we are in any way illegal and the courts will back us up,” added Tania Sole.
But City Attorney Veronica Ramirez said the attorney general’s opinion is important because the office oversees the use of state lands. Mayor Ian Bain added that every attorney the city consulted said the attorney general’s letter carries a “tremendous amount of weight.”
“That didn’t put us in a good position to fight (Hannig’s) lawsuit in court,” Bain said. “It would have resulted in additional legal fees that would have been higher than $20 million by now.”
Docktown resident Dan Slanker said the first two people who signed on to the Docktown Plan are now homeless, and a number of other residents indicated in an informal survey they plan to relocate to illegal structures such as storage buildings.
Residents also said Overland, Pacific and Cutler, the firm overseeing the plan’s execution, failed to inform them of a recent lottery for slips at the Berkeley Marina, even though the company’s tasks include advising residents on other housing opportunities.
Nina Peschcke-Koedt said she has not been offered any money for her houseboat.
“I’m not getting any help,” Peschcke-Koedt said. “The Docktown Plan has not been working in my case.”
Emilio Diaz, 73, a longtime Docktown resident who described himself as a former Marine living on Social Security, said there’s nowhere for him to go when he is forced out of the marina.
“Why are we having to leave? Because the city wants it, and the developers,” Diaz said. “They want our land, they want our space. That’s the truth.”
The city said the plan’s costs are rising primarily due to more owners opting to sell their vessels to the city than expected. According to a staff report, the city has purchased eight boats and three barge-based dwellings from residents, nine of which had to be dismantled to prevent possible sinking or to avoid needed maintenance. The city’s offers for boats have ranged from $4,000 to $48,000 and between $83,000 and $1.2 million for barge-based dwellings.
“We’re doing all of this over one piece of paper from the attorney general that is an opinion, not a fact.”
— Aimee Groce, Docktown resident