The Dotson Family Marsh, formerly Breuner Marsh, is a 238-acre (96 ha)North Richmond's Wetlands Threatened by Development
, Pacific Institute, access date August 8, 2008Breuner Marsh Stewardship
by Aleta George, Bay Nature, March 2006, access date August 8, 2008 Parchester Village Residents Fight to Preserve Breuner Marsh, Open Space
by Tomio Geron, November 12, 2004, access date August 8, 2008

regional park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government. Definition A regional park can be a special park distr ...

San Pablo Bay San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of the San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep wate ...

in the East

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

city of

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a Richmond, California, City Council, city council.

. In 2009 the East Bay Regional Parks District acquired the Breuner Marsh site, adding it to Point Pinole Regional Shoreline. A

habitat restoration Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair ...

plan for of

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s and of California coastal prairie was subsequently approved. On April 22, 2017, the district renamed Breuner Marsh as the Dotson Family Marsh, honoring a local family that had worked for many years to keep Breuner Marsh wild and open to the public."Point Pinole Regional Shoreline." East Bay Regional Parks System.
Accessed August 29, 2017.

Geography

The boundaries surrounding Dotson Family Marsh are approximately: *

to the west. * Giant Marsh and Point Pinole Regional Shoreline Park to the north. *a

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

embankment and Parchester Village to the east. * Rheem Creek to the south.San Francisco Bay Area Wetlands Restoration Program
, Letter of Review/Breuner Marsh Mitigation Bank, January 28, 2003, access date August 8, 2008

History

The former Breuner Marsh land was owned by Fred Parr in the mid 20th-century. It was/is located between the bay and Parchester Village, a post-WW II

master planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

that was the first in the state to sell to African Americans. It was built by Parr with the promise of maintaining the marsh free from development. However, Parr subsequently sold it off, leaving the community's open space in uncertainty.

Gerald Breuner

The new owner was Gerald Breuner, the owner of the former Breuners Home Furnishings chain. During the 1970s he had much of the wetlands illegally destroyed, with the intention of building a private general aviation airport, to be called Breuner Field. However community and political opposition prohibited it,Parchester's Marsh
, by Kathryn Gillick, Ecology Center, access date August 13, 2008 and the small model plane airfield was the largest he could build, and some of the mixed wetlands—grasslands still remained. In the 1980s Bruener tested experimental aircraft, a gyrocopter, at the site, and used it as his primary residence. Collective pitch change system for teter-bar type gyroplane rotary wing aircraft
United States Patent 4741672, May 3, 1988 access date August 15, 2008 Breuner Field or Breuner Airfield was a 5-acre (2 ha) private

radio controlled aircraft A radio-controlled aircraft (often called RC aircraft or RC plane) is a small flying machine that is radio controlled by an operator on the ground using a hand-held radio transmitter. The transmitter continuously communicates with a receiver (rad ...

airfield or "flying field" and club built in the 1970s.About
, BARCS.org, January 20, 2008, access date August 10, 2008Richmond
Gallagher & Lindsay Realtors, access date August 10, 2008 It was located on the illegally reclaimed wetlands, at 4114 Goodrick Avenue, and was accessible from the Richmond Parkway. The site had a sports club, some cottages, and a fishing pier. The runway was about 300 ft (91 m) and is marked with x's to state that it is not suitable for landing by any planes.Google maps
access date August 15, 2008 It was run by the Bay Area Radio Control Society.

Bay Area Wetlands LLC

Breuner Marsh was purchased in 2000 by ''Bay Area Wetlands LLC'', a company that planned on selling the land to the highest bidding developer. After the purchase by Bay Area Wetlands LLC, various proposals to develop the marsh were put forward. These included upscale housing, an industrial complex, a mixed use transit village with housing businesses, and a transit center, and expansion of Point Pinole Regional Shoreline, with Breuner Marsh being restored. The latter was the preferred option from the Parchester Village Neighborhood Council which had fought development in the past. Development was also fought by the Sierra Club and the North Richmond Shoreline Open Space Alliance, and by Gayle McLaughlin and the East Bay Regional Parks District. The East Bay Regional Parks District had considered using

Eminent Domain Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

to prevent development of the rare undeveloped

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

shoreline and to protect endangered species.Park District may save Breuner Marsh
''Sierra Club Yodeler'', access date August 8, 2008 Bay Area Wetlands LLC at one point wanted to build "''Edgewater Technology Park''" but were rebuffed by Parchester residents. Signature Homes, a housing construction firm, bought a six-month option at one point, but was unable to persuade the city council to rezone the area from light industrial, since the city wanted revenue building commercial development instead of funds-draining housing that would place addition strain on city services. The city was willing to zone 27 acres (11 ha) for residential but no more.Breuner Marsh to become parkland at last!
, Citizens for East Shore Parks, access date August 8, 2008 A lawsuit was filed against the property owners to protect the open space, and the court's preliminary judgment was reached on March 28, 2008. The jury decided that the value of the was $6.85 million. This was contrary to the East Bay Regional Parks District's appraiser whom valued it at $1.5 million, and the previous purchase price the Breuners received of $3 million. The defendant owners argued that the city would make up to $18 million off the where development would be allowed. The owners were allowed to keep 20 acres (8 ha), but appealed the March 2008 decision nonetheless. A sale was finally reached two months later for the undeveloped property.

Parkland

Threatened wildlife species in the area include the white-tailed kite, a state "Species of Concern," and

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

such as the salt marsh harvest mouse and the California clapper rail.Government report
p. 6, access date August 10, 2008 The East Bay Regional Park District purchased a large portion of the historic Breuner Marsh in May 2008 for $8,830,155. The Park District has approved plans to restore tidal wetlands and coastal prairie habitats on the property. In addition the district planned to add a component of the San Francisco Bay Trail. In 2011, EBRPD acquired Breuner Marsh, using $6,875,000 of its own bond funds. The San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy (SFBAC) joined the EBRPD effort, authorizing $1,250,000 of Conservancy funds plus a $920,000 grant from the state Fish & Wildlife Agency.''Breuner Marsh Restoration Project''. San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy. August 2, 2012.
Accessed July 25, 2018. On April 22, 2017, the district renamed Breuner Marsh as the Dotson Family Marsh, honoring a local family that had worked for many years to keep Breuner Marsh wild and open to the public, while opposing several attempts to develop the tract for commercial ventures.

Notes

References

External links

Google maps: Breuner MarshCalifornia Coastal Conservancy: Breuner Marsh Restoration & Public Access Project
— ''recommended actions (2012 documents)''. {{East Bay Regional Parks Marshes of California San Pablo Bay Wetlands of the San Francisco Bay Area Geography of Richmond, California Landforms of Contra Costa County, California East Bay Regional Park District Parks in Richmond, California Model airplane fields