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Bay Access Action Center

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Protect recreational access at Berkeley Marina

Status: Open for comment

Open for comment. Write now: the decision-maker and how to reach them are below.

Deadline: Write now. BCDC's hearing is expected in the coming months, and early letters go into the record.

What the report said (as of September 30, 2026): The report says BCDC's paid-parking hearing was off the October 15 agenda and "anticipated … in the coming months" (quoting BCDC, September 30, 2026). No hearing date has been announced.

Berkeley wants to charge for parking at the South Basin lots and turn waterfront parking over to a ferry terminal. Ask regulators to keep this publicly built park accessible.

What we're asking for

  • Deny the permit to charge for parking at South Cove and the South Basin. If anything is approved, make it a time-limited trial with a sunset date, independent monitoring and a baseline built from real use data. It must not become permanent administratively.
  • Review the parking-fee permit and the ferry terminal's parking plan together as one project, including their combined effect on recreational parking.
  • Base decisions on credible recreational-use data, and require no net loss of recreational parking measured at peak recreational hours.
  • Hold off on ferry funding until there is a Final EIR, a BCDC permit, a full cost estimate and a costed in-marina terminal alternative.

Asks are this site's wording of recommendations in SFBA, The State of Recreational Access to the San Francisco Bay: 2026,pp. 6, 7, 8, 9, 31. SFBA has not reviewed this wording.

Who can act

Decision-maker
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC)
Also involved
  • City of Berkeley (ferry project Final EIR and City Council vote)
  • Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC): decision on Berkeley's $25M ferry landside request
Decision
Major permit for paid parking; ferry terminal approvals
How to submit
publiccomment@bcdc.ca.gov (subject must start with “Berkeley Marina paid parking permit”). Send it now; BCDC accepts comments on pending permits before a hearing is scheduled. Once the hearing is on a Commission agenda, comments are due by 10:00 AM the Wednesday before the meeting. BCDC publishes comments as submitted, so leave out your phone number and street address. (primary source)

Make your voice heard

Write without AI

Talking points

Adapted from the SFBA report's recommendations. Choose the ones that match your own experience.

  • Deny the permit to charge for parking at South Cove and the South Basin. If anything is approved, make it a time-limited trial with a sunset date, independent monitoring and a baseline built from real use data. It must not become permanent administratively.
  • Review the parking-fee permit and the ferry terminal's parking plan together as one project, including their combined effect on recreational parking.
  • Base decisions on credible recreational-use data, and require no net loss of recreational parking measured at peak recreational hours.
  • Hold off on ferry funding until there is a Final EIR, a BCDC permit, a full cost estimate and a costed in-marina terminal alternative.

Report findings by activity

  • Open-water swimming: In the city's own survey, the south waterfront lots targeted for fees serve 70% of swimming visits. (report p. 8)
  • Sailing, Windsurfing, Wingfoiling, Kayaking, Stand-up paddling (SUP), Rowing: In the city's own survey, the same lots serve 76% of sailing and boating visits. (report p. 8)
  • Windsurfing, Wingfoiling, Kayaking, Stand-up paddling (SUP), Sailing: The city's proposed alternative, free parking up to a third of a mile away, does not work for anyone carrying a sail, a kayak or a wing. (report p. 7)
  • Fishing, Beach visits / walking, Open-water swimming: Anglers, swimmers and many other shoreline visitors use these lots, and fees fall hardest on people who live beyond biking distance. (report p. 9)

Where to send it

Email publiccomment@bcdc.ca.gov. Start the subject line with “Berkeley Marina paid parking permit”. Send it now; BCDC accepts comments on pending permits before a hearing is scheduled. Once the hearing is on a Commission agenda, comments are due by 10:00 AM the Wednesday before the meeting. BCDC publishes comments as submitted, so leave out your phone number and street address.

A simple outline

Who is affected?

  • Open-water swimming: In the city's own survey, the south waterfront lots targeted for fees serve 70% of swimming visits. (SFBA, The State of Recreational Access to the San Francisco Bay: 2026,p. 8)
  • Sailing, Windsurfing, Wingfoiling, Kayaking, Stand-up paddling (SUP), Rowing: In the city's own survey, the same lots serve 76% of sailing and boating visits. (SFBA, The State of Recreational Access to the San Francisco Bay: 2026,p. 8)
  • Windsurfing, Wingfoiling, Kayaking, Stand-up paddling (SUP), Sailing: The city's proposed alternative, free parking up to a third of a mile away, does not work for anyone carrying a sail, a kayak or a wing. (SFBA, The State of Recreational Access to the San Francisco Bay: 2026,p. 7)
  • Fishing, Beach visits / walking, Open-water swimming: Anglers, swimmers and many other shoreline visitors use these lots, and fees fall hardest on people who live beyond biking distance. (SFBA, The State of Recreational Access to the San Francisco Bay: 2026,p. 9)

The report doesn't cover every way people use Berkeley Marina (for example, kitesurfing). If that's you, decision-makers need to hear your first-hand account. You can also send us evidence to add here.

Why it matters

Berkeley filled this part of the Bay in the 1960s to build a regional park, using state and federal recreation money. The city now wants to charge for parking in the lots that serve the South Basin launches ($6 a day or $500 a year for 273 spaces). It has also proposed a pier ferry terminal that would convert 275 spaces in existing waterfront lots to paid, all-day parking for ferry riders. The city cites a shortfall in the marina fund to justify both. (Report pp. 6–7)

The report says this would be BCDC’s first standalone permit for parking fees. It warns that approval would give every agency holding shoreline land a template for charging people to reach the water. (pp. 1, 9)

About 171,000 people a year visit the south waterfront, and many drive because they carry gear or bring kids. City consultants forecast about 915 ferry riders a day, with 48–60% driving, and riders would compete with recreational visitors for the same lots. The report argues that the city’s parking counts were taken at low-use times. (pp. 7–8)

The south lots serve more lower-income visitors than the north lots (20% of south-lot respondents earn under $75,000, against 8% in the north). BCDC guidance says public access to the Bay should “in general” be free of charge. (pp. 7–8)

Bay Plan Recreation Policy 3 calls for “sufficient, convenient parking” at non-motorized launch sites. Recreation Policy 9 says park and marina parking “should not be usurped by ferry patrons.” The marina also sits on public-trust tidelands. (pp. 7, 30)

Summary written by this site from the SFBA report. Positions are SFBA’s recommendations, not findings by an agency.

Read the evidence

Report page numbers are the numbers printed at the bottom of each page. About the report

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Last checked

Action details last verified October 10, 2026.See something wrong or out of date? Fix it on GitHub (GitHub opens a pull request for you), or tell us what's wrong.

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