Parks and Open Space – Alameda Point Environmental Report

City Council sidesteps community planning process for Enterprise Park

During a closed session meeting of the City Council on October 21, 2025, the council unanimously authorized city staff to prepare a long-term lease agreement with a private developer to build a commercial surf pool and associated amenities in Enterprise Park at Alameda Point. They did so, despite the fact that no community-at-large master planning process for this shoreline park, as was done with other parks, has ever been conducted to find out if Alamedans want a commercial enterprise of this type anchoring the park.

If the project moves forward, a significant part of this public parkland will become fenced off and privatized under a no-bid contract.

Surf Pool Proposal Perverts Park Planning Process

Lost in the fog of media hoopla about a proposal to build a surf pool at Alameda Point is that its proposed location is within a larger public park awaiting a master plan. Normally the city initiates a formal consultant-led community process to develop a master plan design from scratch. In this case, the process is backwards and misleading.

At issue is the popular tranquil open space that extends from the Encinal Boat Ramp through the former campground all the way to the ferry maintenance facility. Its unofficial placeholder name is Enterprise Park.

Student volunteers lead litter cleanup around Seaplane Lagoon

Picking up litter year-round, not just on Earth Day, is an ongoing effort for some. On Saturday, April 12, dozens of students showed up at Seaplane Promenade Park at Alameda Point to pick up litter and trash from around the lagoon.

“We do these events once a month, every second Saturday,” said Patrick Hirsch, an Alameda high school student and one of the organizers of the event who works with two of the cleanup co-sponsors Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda (CASA) and Alameda Point business DOER Marine. “We supply the buckets and pickers.”

Handling Alameda’s beach erosion problem

The City of Alameda had just endorsed concept designs to address sea level rise for its north shore, when recent storms shifted attention to the south shore.

The erosion of sand from our shoreline yet again raises an important question that the city is not considering in its adaptation planning: Should maintaining the beach be the primary objective in dealing with sea level rise and increasing powerful storms?

On the shelf sits a 1981 environmental assessment by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) that could help answer the question. A hardcopy is located in the reference section of the Alameda Free Library, 1550 Oak Street.

Mountain bikers sideline environmentalists in local Sierra Club

It’s not only the federal government that’s undergoing a purge of experienced, dedicated workers. It appears to be happening in the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the Sierra Club as well, as the interests of mountain bike enthusiasts continue to clash with the club’s established environmental policies.

On February 10, the chapter’s recently elected Executive Committee (ExCom) removed a slew of longtime environmentalists—without giving any reason—from chapter committees working on certain issues.

The East Bay Public Lands Committee, which monitors policies such as vegetation manageme nt, tra ils, and planning for regional parks and EBMUD watershed lands, was one victim of the purge. Three of those removed are from Alameda.

Unnatural disaster from King Tide storms at Alameda Point

A deluge of plastic trash, including Styrofoam pellets, was heaved onshore at Alameda Point during high-tide storms.

On Saturday and Sunday, December 14 and 15, King Tide storms managed to flush huge amounts of plastic pollution out of the Bay and onto land. In some areas, such as along the paved trails on the ferry terminal side of the Seaplane Lagoon at Alameda Point, the storm reminded us that we have a huge plastic pollution problem right here in San Francisco Bay.

Possibly the worst plastic contaminant of all is polystyrene, commonly referred to by the trade name Styrofoam. Styrofoam breaks down into microplastics that do not biodegrade and can be ingested by marine life.

The sheer scale of the pernicious problem of degrading Styrofoam products in our waterways was displayed like a communique from Mother Nature saying, “Here’s your garbage back.” It will likely require a vacuum truck to suck it all up before it ends up back in the water.

City applies for $2.4 million De-Pave Park grant

On October 4, 2024, the City of Alameda submitted a grant application to the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority for $2.4 million. The purpose of the grant is to advance the level of detail in the De-Pave Park design drawings to support regional and local permit applications.

“The City plans to complete 60% design and apply for regional permits by early 2026, and complete 90% design and be shovel ready by the end of 2026,” states the application. “Concurrently, the City will be identifying and securing construction funding.”