Politics & Government

Second Time Not The Charm For Kayak Booth

Council splits on negotiating further with other proposed locations, ending the issue.

The City Council split 2-2 on a proposed location for a eight-foot diameter kiosk Tuesday night, essentially ending the matter.

The kiosk would have been for safe storage of life jackets and paddles. Sunset Bay Kayaks has been running at the public dock at the Harbor Plaza seasonally.

Councilmember Mike Segala didn’t like the city-proposed location in a parking lot at the corner of Main Street and Solano Street, which would have been outside a banned area by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission. Other locations pushed by Sunset Bay Kayaks owner Trish Abbatiello would have been within the banned zone or had fire regulation issues.

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Segala wanted city staff to analyze alternate locations, but Mayor Pete Sanchez said he didn’t want to waste staff time on a subject where only two of the four council members present – Councilwoman Jane Day was absent – were supportive of negotiating further.

With Councilman Sam Derting opposed to the kiosk on grounds of fairness to other businesses with storefronts in the area, and Segala not sold on the city-proposed location, Sanchez and Councilman Mike Hudson were left as the sole yes votes.

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Abbatiello spoke against other proposed locations that would have been outside the BCDC banned area, such as a location near California Marine, well south of Harbor Plaza.

Abbatiello said that through experience of once operating in the area, she knew business wasn’t good so far south because there wasn’t enough visibility.

Derting also had an issue with whether the kiosk was really going to be temporary as proposed. Indeed, one of the first answers Abbatiello gave to the council was that she hoped it would become permanent.

Derting said he was uncomfortable with the idea that something would be proposed to the council as temporary but Abbatiello would say she wanted it to be permanent.

As proposed, the kiosk would have highlighted other businesses at the waterfront area, with Abbatiello running her business out of it and serving as a kind of waterfront information booth.

This is the second time the council has rebuffed the idea of a temporary structure for Sunset Bay Kayaks. It came up for discussion last year, but Abbatiello put together a more structured plan this time around.


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