RICHARDSON BAY IS HEALTHIER, SAFER AND EASIER TO ACCESS FIVE YEARS AFTER LANDMARK AGREEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 23, 2026
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RICHARDSON BAY IS HEALTHIER, SAFER AND EASIER TO ACCESS FIVE YEARS AFTER LANDMARK AGREEMENT
Richardson Bay Regional Agency and San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission mark completion of 2021 compact that relocated illegally anchored boats, protected eelgrass habitat, and moved eligible residents into housing.
Sausalito, CA— With the October 15 deadline now passed, the Richardson Bay Regional Agency (RBRA) and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) are recognizing that the major goals of their historic agreement have been achieved.
The agreement laid out a number of goals for the RBRA, most notably stipulating that all vessels and floating homes be removed from the anchorage by October 15, 2026, except those abiding by 72-hour time restrictions. When the agreement was signed, there were hundreds of boats illegally anchored on Richardson Bay, but now there are no longer any unsanctioned vessels on the anchorage.
“When we signed this agreement with BCDC, Richardson Bay was in vital need of an intervention,” said RBRA Board Chair Jack Ryan. “The huge numbers of boats proliferating on the Bay were damaging the aquatic environment and posing major access challenges for residents trying to navigate the waters. At the time, many people doubted we could achieve the goals of this agreement without causing a major uproar in the community. But because we took a commonsense and compassionate approach to our plan, we were able to reach our objectives with large community buy-in.”
“Five years ago, there were over 160 illegally anchored vessels in Richardson Bay damaging the environment and blocking the public’s access to the Bay,” said Larry Goldzband, Executive Director of BCDC. “Today, Richardson Bay is a much healthier, safer, and environmentally vibrant place because of the collaboration between the State and local governments. We are happy to see the goals of this agreement reached and look forward to continuing working with the RBRA to ensure that Richardson Bay remains protected and preserved for everyone.”
The agreement with BCDC was driven in large part by the need to protect the eelgrass ecosystem of Richardson Bay. Eelgrass is a critical component of a healthy and vibrant Richardson Bay. It supports herring runs, reduces erosion, sequesters carbon and is a crucial ecological resource for harbor porpoises and sea lions. Anchors and chains from the boats on Richardson Bay were destroying the eelgrass environment.
To help incentivize boat owners to move off the environmentally sensitive waters, the RBRA launched its Temporary Housing Support Program in 2023 with the help of $3 million in state funds secured by State Senator Mike McGuire. In August, the RBRA and Senator McGuire celebrated the final eligible participant of the Richardson Bay Regional Agency’s (RBRA) Temporary Housing Support Program officially moving into safe, secure housing. And this month, the final individual living on a boat in the water entered into an agreement with the City of Sausalito to move their vessel into a local marina.
Over the course of the five-year agreement, the RBRA achieved numerous objectives laid out by the pact, as evidenced by this timeline:
● August 2021: RBRA and BCDC executed the agreement establishing a phased approach to vessel removal, eelgrass protection and restoration, and the transition of eligible residents off the anchorage.
● December 15, 2021: The agreement established the deadline for finalizing the Eelgrass Protection and Management Plan.
● December 15, 2023: RBRA submitted its ten-year Eelgrass Restoration and Adaptive Management Plan to BCDC, meeting the agreement’s restoration-planning milestone. Incidentally, since 2023 more than 16 acres of eelgrass have been restored and two tons of submerged debris removed in the anchorage.
● October 15, 2023: The deadline for removing the illegally moored floating homes was met, with the four floating homes identified in the agreement removed from Richardson Bay.
● August 24, 2023, and July 11, 2024: BCDC granted extensions for the removal of vessels that were not enrolled in the Safe and Seaworthy Program. The deadline was first extended to October 15, 2024, and then to October 15, 2025, allowing additional time to complete housing transitions and vessel removals. These extensions were instrumental in the success of these removals without significant incident.
● October 15, 2024: The Eelgrass Protection Zone restrictions took effect, prohibiting anchoring in the protected area. RBRA continued enforcement and relocation efforts to protect this sensitive habitat.
● October 15, 2025: The extended deadline for removing vessels outside the Safe and Seaworthy Program was reached. RBRA’s housing assistance, vessel buyback, outreach, and enforcement efforts helped accomplish the transition of the remaining eligible residents and vessels covered by that deadline.
● 2025–2026: RBRA continued eelgrass restoration and monitoring. The last illegally anchored vessel was moved out of the Eelgrass Protection Zone in March 2026, a major environmental milestone.
“As a member of both the RBRA Board and a BCDC Commissioner, I am thrilled to see this historic compact meet its completion,” said RBRA Board Member Stephanie Moulton-Peters, who also sits on the County’s Board of Supervisors. “Richardson Bay is the heart of Marin County and I care very deeply about protecting this precious resource. For years, I was unsure about its future. Now, I can rest easy knowing that our Bay is protected under the right conditions to flourish for generations to come.”
“We consider every goal of this agreement to be met, and we are incredibly proud to see these goals achieved,” said RBRA Executive Director Brad Gross. “By working with our various regional and county partners, we put together a plan that would effectively and thoughtfully meet the needs of the community. I want to thank BCDC for their outstanding partnership in this collaboration and I’m here to assure the community that we will uphold the tenets of this agreement for as long as the RBRA is operating.”
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The Richardson Bay Regional Agency (RBRA) is a local government agency serving Belvedere, Mill Valley, Tiburon, and unincorporated Southern Marin County. RBRA is dedicated to maintaining and improving the navigational waterways, open waters, and shoreline of Richardson Bay.