Chevron Donates Easement for San Francisco Bay Trail Segment
Chevron announced on November 2 that it will donate an easement for the San Francisco Bay Trail to East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) on Richmond's Point San Pablo Peninsula. The 20-foot-wide easement totals about 1.5 miles and covers shoreline portions of Chevron's refinery property following the former Richmond Beltline Railroad/Castro Point Railway corridor. EBRPD and Chevron have been working together for several years to secure access to this important but previously unavailable parcel to extend the Bay Trail. "With Chevron's help, the Richmond community will have more trail access and future open space parkland along the waterfront, which has long been a part of the Park District's master plan," said Bob Doyle, assistant general manager of land acquisition and advanced planning.
The proposed easement donation consists of two segments: a southern segment beginning at the foot of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and running north to the former U.S. Naval Fuel Depot at Point Molate; and a northern segment, which runs north of the former depot past Point Orient to just south of Point San Pablo Yacht Club.
This segment of the San Francisco Bay Trail crosses various ownerships, including property owned by the city of Richmond and Chevron. EBRPD and Chevron both recognize that some of the former railroad right-of-way may no longer be suitable for construction of the trail, with portions of the corridor having subsided over time. Chevron has agreed to cooperate with EBRPD to develop a mutually acceptable realignment of the trail, as close to the original corridor alignment as physically possible, in order to provide safe use of the trail and to maximize the visual enjoyment for trail users.
