"Today, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) authorized the beach restoration plan at the East Bay site known as 'Racetrack' with 'special accommodation for kite boarding.' This included expanded open space for launch and landing and maintenance of grass to accommodate for our lines. Kirk van Moon was there with me.
While the outcome was favorable, the kiting community very nearly lost access to this location, as the designs that were about to be authorized a few months ago would have made safe launch and landing very difficult. It was only by dumb luck that I became aware of this before the final vote and managed to delay the process and negotiate changes to the designs. The delay also gave me time to engage other members of the kite community, most notably, Kirk van Moon and and various members of the San Francisco Boardsailing Association (SFBA)--an organization I had never heard of.
Jim McGraph, an SFBA and BCDC board member with 30+ years of coastal restoration and access experience, was tremendously helpful in guiding me through the mine field of political interests involved in the Albany Beach/Bay Trail plan. While the SFBA has been a critical force in ensuring and preserving access for windsurfers for decades, the organization is not well known among kiters. Their interests are very similar, however, and their experience is unmatched. It became clear to me that kiters need an organization like this to advocate for and protect our access while we're out enjoying it.
After representing kiter interests before various organizations involved in the Albany Beach project, the SFBA asked me to work with them to help them incorporate the specific needs of kiters into their agenda and to improve their reach in the Kiter community. I only agreed to help after speaking with Kirk, who agreed that we (kiters) need to have better representation before committees that determine access and that--most import to me--he would help me raise awareness of the SFBA's role in protecting access.
In short, the fight to preserve Racetrack was just the start of a larger effort to ensure we not only lose other access points but that we have an organization through which we can work. I hope you'll join me and Kirk in working to make this happen."
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