We, the undersigned, request that the City of Berkeley show its commitment to existing volunteer services that allow Bay Area residents to participate in equitable, widely used, and highly affordable water sports and recreation in our beautiful Bay. We ask the City to demonstrate its support for the unique access provided by Berkeley’s volunteer-run nonprofit Cal Sailing Club (CSC) by:

• halting efforts to evict CSC keelboats from their irreplaceable location in the Berkeley Marina’s J-Dock, and 
• designating the current berths (numbers 360, 362, 364, 366, 368, 398) as dedicated in perpetuity for CSC teaching purposes.

As convincingly spelled out in CSC’s letter to the City Manager and City Council, CSC, a registered Community-Based Organization and non-profit, provides enormous benefits to the people of Berkeley and beyond. Sailing and water sports are often elitist and accessible only to the wealthy. CSC, however, allows everyone to access the benefits of experiencing our Bay environment for health, social engagement, and connection to nature. CSC has provided low- or no-cost memberships to almost 20,000 members over the past 15 years, which include lessons and equipment for both sailing and windsurfing. CSC also conducts regular youth events and provides free sailboat rides on the Bay to thousands of people during its monthly open house.

CSC has been using its current berths for 50 years, and they are essential to its programming and functioning. Yet, in an effort that would only minimally increase revenues, the City is contemplating evicting CSC from these spots. It is our position that there are other viable options that allow for new, larger boats, while allowing it to keep its J-Dock home. Given these options, this eviction would be a critical and needless blow to Cal Sailing Club’s educational program.

 We ask that the City recognize that the services that CSC provides are worth more than the value that might be gained from selling out here. Please show your commitment to Berkeley values, health and wellbeing, as well as  equitable access to environmental resources, by supporting a resolution that would protect CSC’s historic and vital berths at J-Dock.