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De-Pave Park Master Plan Kick-Off Meeting Scheduled

Consultant to lead the ecological park planning process

If participating in the creation of a wetland ecological park in Alameda is of interest to you, mark your calendar for the first public meeting on the master planning process for De-Pave Park, next Saturday, April 15, from 3 to 5 p.m. The in-person workshop will be outdoors at 1751 Monarch Street, near Building 25, on Alameda Point.

Alameda Post - a rendering of what De-Pave Park could look like, with a tour guide leading a group of children near the marsh
A rendering of what De-Pave Park could look like as a space for recreation and education. Image CMG Landscape Architecture.

The city was awarded an $800,000 grant from the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority to create a master plan for the park. CMG Landscape Architecture secured a two-year contract from the city to create the plan.

In order to bolster the planning grant application, the city secured mostly pro bono services of CMG in 2020 to create a Vision Plan for De-Pave Park. By removing all of the pavement except for a strip to be repurposed as a trail, and reusing the crushed pavement for site contouring, the project will offset its own construction carbon footprint in four years. It will also mitigate the impact of the Navy’s original construction in less than 25 years, as opposed to the additional 220 years the current site would have required to become climate positive, according to CMG’s climate scorecard tool.



Alameda Post - a poster that says "Alameda's Next Park. Shape the future of De-Pave Park. Join us to share your thoughts about the future of De-Pave Park, funded by the SF Bay Restoration Authority, for a clean a healthy bay. April 15, 2023, 3-5 pm in person workshop. 1751 Monarch Street. April 19, 2023 virtual workshop. https://bit.ly/3nNXYrk

CMG will be taking community input, preparing at least two master plan alternatives, and preparing initial 30% percent construction drawings. They will also be engaging with seven Bay Area regulatory agencies that make up the Bay Restoration Regulatory Integration Team. The collaborative program was set up for local agencies to begin vetting projects in the early stages in order to make sure the project ends up being something that will be approved.

Additionally as part of the scope of work, CMG will:

Alameda Post - an aerial view of Alameda Point where De-Pave Park would be put in place of the existing pavement
The De-Pave Park planning area setting. Photo Richard Bangert.
Alameda Post - a map of the Alameda Point shoreline and wetlands, along with where the new park would be located. The park map includes a path, several overlooks, and habitat jetties. The map appears to greatly protect wildlife areas and keep humans to small, specific trails through the land
De-Pave Park Vision Plan conceptual rendering showing re-imagined shoreline and connection to the VA wetland. Image CMG Landscape Architecture.

Part of the beauty of De-Pave Park is that its tidal ecology will integrate with the existing wetland on the adjacent U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) property, creating a significant urban wetland ecosystem and connecting people with nature. When the VA’s wetland expansion project is completed, the combined wetland area will total at least 38 acres, depending on which alternative is selected. The greater De-Pave/VA wetland complex will also provide more wildlife habitat and sequester more carbon.

One of the ideas suggested in the Vision Plan is to repurpose the rip rap boulders now holding up the shoreline in the Seaplane Lagoon and reposition them as fingers into the water that are dubbed habitat jetties. Rocky shoreline above and below water serves as habitat for seldom seen creatures and vegetation. Besides doubling the surface area of the boulders available as habitat, repositioning the boulders will also allow for the tides to begin encroaching into the new wetland.

Alameda Post - a bird wading in the water
A black-necked stilt in VA wetland near De-Pave Park on March 31, 2023. The deluge of rain has made the wetland more attractive to birds this year, with American avocets and black-necked stilts appearing to be staking out nesting sites within view of the fence. Photo Richard Bangert.

Read more background details, including a video of CMG’s August 2020 Vision Plan presentation to the Alameda Recreation and Park Commission, at Alameda Point Environmental Report.

Contributing writer Richard Bangert posts stories and photos about environmental issues on his blog Alameda Point Environmental Report, https://alamedapointenviro.com/. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Richard-Bangert.

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