In a blockbuster announcement on July 18, 2022, Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia issued a press release confirming that Governor Newsom signed $36 million for acquisition and cleanup of Point Molate.
The Supervisor Gioia announcement reads as follows:
Thank you State Senator Nancy Skinner, Governor Gavin Newsom and East Bay Regional Park District Director Elizabeth Echols for supporting $36 million in the recently approved state budget for the East Bay Regional Park District to help our community achieve a regional park at Pt. Molate.
Both the park district's 1996 Master Plan and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission's San Francisco Bay Plan have called for a regional park at Pt. Molate for many years. This significant funding will leverage additional monies and bring us closer to this long-standing vision for a regional park for all Richmond and Bay Area residents.
East Bay voters approved Measure WW in 2008 by over 71% (and 75% in Richmond) which included funding for a shoreline park at Pt. Molate.
The state’s allocation of $36 million to the East Bay Regional Park District for Pt. Molate aligns with all of these actions.
The dedicated money will allow the possible realization of the long held vision of most Richmond residents for Point Molate: a world-class park on this great site.
For those unfamiliar, Point Molate is a closed Navy Refueling Depot on the Richmond shoreline just north of the Richmond San Rafael Bridge. It sits on the west side of the San Pablo Peninsula, separated from the Chevron Oil Refinery on the east side by a high ridge running along the center of the peninsula.
It is home to magnificent otters, leopard sharks, osprey, and an unbelievable variety of plants, flowers and trees, all providing habitat and recreational opportunities for Richmond. It has been scoped out for playing fields and hiking trails plus cycling, and a beach front for picnics and exploring or watching the occasional bald eagle flying overhead.
There are many steps to be taken in pursuit of the vision, but the state has given a significant boost to the path forward.