It may sound like it, but this is no April Fool’s joke.

Port of Richmond staff has been quietly exploring the idea of building a large container port on Richmond’s northwest shoreline, roughly in the area between the Chevron refinery and the West Contra Costa landfill where Wildcat Creek spills into San Pablo Bay. The area encompasses Wildcat Marsh and the adjoining tidal mudflat, which is the largest patch of tidal salt marsh in the East Bay north of Fremont in southern Alameda County. Among other endemic wildlife, Wildcat Marsh supports endangered California clapper rail and salt marsh harvest mouse.

Citing Richmond’s need for more revenue, Port staff has been promoting this idea for at least a year, and credible sources indicate that several investors have approached City staff with preliminary proposals for a project that would cost between $1 billion and $5 billion. The impetus seems to have come from a presumption that existing Pacific coast container ports have reached capacity, and new ports are needed. The area is also adjacent to both UP and BNSF rail lines. Advocates acknowledge environmental issues but believe they can be “worked out.”

City staff has been spending time (and therefore taxpayers money) developing this concept without either the knowledge or direction of the City Council. The rule in Richmond is that if an individual Council member wants staff to spend any time on a project, it takes 5 votes of the City Council. Staff, on the other hand, is free to dream and follow whatever whims strike their fancy.

I have been informed that this issue will be placed on the City Council agenda of July 18^th to find out if the City Council wants staff to continue planning.

Plans for Richmond’s undeveloped north shoreline have continued to tempt big dreamers for years who just can’t stand to see the economic waste of undeveloped open space, particularly along the shoreline. In the 1970s, this area was slated for landfill expansion. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was Gold Rush City, a supertanker terminal and a joint venture between Chevron and the City of Richmond for a power plant.  We just fought the battle of Breuner Marsh, but the East Bay Regional Parks District has now stepped up to purchase the site of an erstwhile “transit village.” I was criticized by several people for exaggerating recently when I stated that staff would find a place for a coal mine in Richmond if someone filed an application. A container terminal in Wildcat Marsh is not exactly a coal mine; it may be worse.