FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

MEDIA CONTACT:

will.reisman@progress-pa.com

415-420-0905

Sausalito, CA—The Richardson Bay Regional Agency’s (RBRA) Board of Directors recently passed a balanced budget of $1.565 million for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on July 1 and runs through June 30, 2025.

The budget, enacted unanimously by the RBRA Board at its May meeting, will fund and support the agency’s major priorities, including the Eelgrass Restoration and Adaptive Management Plan (RAMP) and the Housing Voucher Program.

In 2021, the Richardson Bay Regional Agency (RBRA) entered into an Agreement with the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), stipulating that all vessels and floating homes be removed from the anchorage by October 26, 2026, except those abiding by 72-hour time restrictions.

The Housing Voucher Program, which is supported by state funds secured by California Senate Pro-Tem Mike McGuire, enables individuals living on the water to transition into safe, secure housing on land. To date, nearly 20 individuals have participated in the program. With the help of that initiative, the amount of vessels on the anchorage has decreased to less than 30, after numbering in the hundreds for years.

In addition to making Richardson Bay more accessible and safer, removing the vessels is key to protecting the local eelgrass environment.

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. In addition, tens of thousands of migratory shorebirds rely on the eelgrass of Richardson Bay for feeding and resting during migration along the Pacific Flyway.

The RBRA is actively working to restore and protect the eelgrass environment through the support of a $2.8 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, which is reflected in the upcoming budget.

The $1.565 million 2024-25 fiscal year budget for the RBRA represents a three percent increase from the prior year’s budget. That increase will be balanced by additional contributions from the RBRA’s four member agencies—Marin County the cities of, Mill Valley and Belvedere, and the town of Tiburon

“This balanced budget reflects our commitment to a safe, healthy and vibrant Richardson Bay,” said RBRA Board Chair Jim Lynch. “We are continuing on our path to protecting the environment and making this great natural resource available and accessible to everyone, while doing so in a fiscally responsible way.”

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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.