Lack of boathouse leads to plans for a floathouse

Plans for two community boating facilities on the Petaluma River are cruising along after years of staying afloat, thanks to grassroots fundraising, progress with developing the riverside and collaboration with city staff.

Greg Sabourin, executive director of the Petaluma Small Craft Center, said the group’s goal is to improve access to the “largest park in Petaluma” by utilizing programs and projects to promote river use. Currently, Sabourin said the best access to the river for small craft users is the North Bay Rowing Club’s facility, located on the Van Bebber Brothers’ property and accessed through Foundry Wharf. But Sabourin said the rowers and others who use the access, have been encouraged to find a new launch spot within the next four years.

Under a ticking clock, the PSCC has focused its efforts on building a community boathouse that could serve as a permanent home for all types of watercraft. Ideally, the boathouse would include docks, boat storage, showers, meeting rooms and workout areas.

“It would serve as a magnet for boating on the river,” Sabourin said.

For about the last seven years, PSCC has been working with city staff and local developer Basin Street Properties to incorporate the boathouse into the developer’s mixed-use Riverfront project, which was recently approved by the city council. Basin Street donated a 100-foot wide strip of river, where the majority of the boathouse will be constructed.

But Sabourin said the final component needed before calling the site official is negotiations with Caltrans, which owns the property immediately south of the Riverfront project, where the Highway 101 bridge crosses the river. Sabourin said negotiations between the city and Caltrans have been slow-going, but he said Caltrans seems amenable to their request to use the area for staging boats.

Once negotiations are finished, Sabourin said the group can begin the initial design and environmental studies for the boathouse project, which he estimates will cost between $35,000 and $40,000.

The project, in its entirety, would cost millions of dollars, Sabourin said. But with continued local fundraising, grants and corporate donations, he’s confident that the boathouse could be floating within the next four years.

In the meantime, the PSCC’s newest project is a smaller floathouse, which would serve as a small craft rental facility on the river, including docks for boat storage and launching, and a separate restroom facility on shore.

The facility would house the rental center office, boating equipment and act as a general information center for the river - all within the space of a two-car garage that floats, rising and falling with the tides.

Sabourin said the downtown turning basin was selected as the project’s site because visibility and foot traffic would be key to keeping the nonprofit business above water. Renters seeking a vessel would have access to 180 feet of low dock that would enable the launching and landing of people-powered boats and paddle boards.

After working with city staff for several years, Sabourin is hoping for approval from the planning commission and city council this fall, which would open the door for PSCC to apply for grants and obtain the rest of the necessary permits the following spring. Because the project is cheaper and smaller than the Riverfront boathouse, Sabourin is optimistic that the floathouse could open in the spring of 2016.

Sabourin said PSCC has already invested $35,000 in the project, and will continue fundraising in the future with events like the annual Day on the River and the River Access Raffle. Overall, Sabourin expects the floathouse project to cost no less than $500,000, but with grant money, donations and continued fundraising efforts, he can see the project on the horizon.

(Contact Allison Jarrell at allison.jarrell@argus courier.com)