Bahia reverses course
In September, 288 Bahia homeowners were queried by the Bahia Homeowners Association and 240 returned responses. Of those who replied, 68 percent said they opposed the dredging project as planned, according to the results released last week. "There is a lot of new information now and things have changed for homeowners," said Lynn Emrich, president of the Bahia board of directors. One new piece of information is the expense of the project. Once thought to cost $6 million, then $8 million, the cost is now projected at $17 million. If the project went forward, those who live on the water would have to pay $90,000 for the work, and those off the water $45,000. Seventy-three percent of the respondents say those fees would cause a financial hardship. It's also likely the dredge work would not be done right away, officials said. Because the work would affect habitat of the endangered California clapper rail, a site in Sonoma County would have to be restored for the birds before work could begin on the lagoon. "It would be a phased project," Emrich said. "It could be eight years before a boat ends up in the water." The homeowners association is under a 1992 court order to dredge the lagoon, but the project has languished. Emrich said new details and survey results would be given to the court for review. In theory, the court could void the order to dredge. According to the poll, 59 percent of the residents found the current condition of the lagoon "acceptable" or "somewhat acceptable." "I still support the project," said Allan Hulme, who has lived in Bahia since 1970. "The results are disappointing, but not surprising." Bahia, which sits near the mouth of the Petaluma River, has not had its lagoon dredged since 1987, when legal issues arose about who would do the work. The current plan would dredge the west Bahia lagoon, block off the original access channel to the Petaluma River, dig a new channel to the east lagoon and create a lock between the east lagoon and the Petaluma River. Fourteen acres would be dredged. Property owners in that area of northeast Novato have spent more than $3 million trying to clear regulatory hurdles to start the project, and they are still waiting for a final ruling on the by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the project's potential impact. "We are still working on the evaluation of the project," said Jim Nickles, a spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service. |