Belvedere issues Mallard Pointe demolition permit, clearing way for evictions

Belvedere has issued the demolition permit for Mallard Pointe, allowing the developer to start evicting residents of the 22-unit lagoon-side complex. But it can’t begin tearing down the duplexes until the city approves a separate bulkhead permit, which remains under review.

The city issued the permit July 15, advancing a six-year effort to replace the market-rate rental units between City Hall and Belvedere Lagoon with a 40-unit development. Developer Thompson Dorfman Partners LLC must now serve tenants with formal notices to vacate. Once those notices go out, residents will have 60 days to leave, putting move-out around mid-September.

Issuing the permit starts the eviction clock, but demolition still depends on the bulkhead permit. The developer will work to secure it during the 60-day notice period, the city said. If it cannot, tenants could be forced out before any teardown can legally begin, a scenario residents have warned about.

At a July 9 community meeting, Belvedere’s specialist housing attorney Barbara Kautz pointed residents to state building and housing law.

“If the conditions of approval have been met, the city is required to issue the demolition permit,” she said. If the city refused, she said, that would be evidence of bad faith under those laws, and “the city could be subject to pretty severe penalties.”

Mayor Sally Wilkinson echoed that view, saying councilmembers are “bound to follow the law” and have “fiduciary responsibilities to the city … in terms of our fiscal position and not exposing ourselves to unnecessary legal risk.”

What the permit means for tenants

Tenants received a 180-day notice to vacate dated Feb. 6 that said their tenancies were expected to end Aug. 5, according to a city FAQ posted July 15. That letter, required by state law and the project’s conditions of approval, could not force anyone out. A formal 60-day notice could be issued only after the demolition permit was granted.

The developer has said it will send the notices as soon as it has the permit in hand. After the 60-day period ends, Thompson Dorfman will have 75 days to complete demolition.

If a tenant does not leave after 60 days, the city said it would assess conditions and decide whether partial demolition could proceed in vacated areas, but only if the work could be done safely and within the permit. Under state law, a landlord may not try to force tenants out by harassing them or making their units uninhabitable.

Demolition can’t begin until the bulkheads are permitted

The bulkhead permit covers replacement of the walls that separate the lagoon from the land and guard against erosion. The developer has applied for it, but the city is still reviewing the application.

Under conditions attached to the demolition permit, bulkhead replacement must start within 14 days after demolition begins and finish by Oct. 15. State agencies generally bar in-water work from Oct. 15 to April 15, leaving a narrow window. If the work is not finished in time, the existing bulkheads stay in place and the remaining sections are replaced next spring, the city said.

Vice Mayor Kevin Burke said the city deliberately linked the two permits after residents worried the developer might raze the buildings and leave the bulkheads unaddressed.

The bulkheads will be removed and replaced in small interlocking sections rather than all at once, the city said. A required stormwater pollution prevention plan calls for straw wattles and other erosion controls to keep sediment out of the lagoon.

Asbestos and other safeguards

Several residents at the July 9 meeting raised concerns about asbestos in the buildings, which were built in the 1950s. Under the project’s conditions, the developer must obtain permits from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which regulates asbestos removal, before demolishing any building that contains it.

Asbestos Management Group, working for the developer, has obtained those permits for all of the Mallard Pointe buildings, according to the city. Materials were tested, and a mitigation plan was approved before the district issued its permits. The city’s building official verified with the district that the permits complied with its regulations.

The developer also carries a $5 million liability insurance policy required by the city, which will collect road-impact fees and a $30,000 damage deposit.

Construction traffic will follow one of two haul routes, according to the developer’s construction management plan. The primary route runs from Tiburon Boulevard to Beach Road to San Rafael Avenue to Community Road to Mallard Road. An alternate route via Leeward Road would be used if the Beach Road seawall project interferes.

The redevelopment will replace the 22 units with 40: a 23-unit apartment building along with 16 single-family and duplex units and one accessory dwelling unit. Four units must remain affordable to low- and very-low-income households for 55 years. The project is a net gain of 18 units toward Belvedere’s state-required housing goals.

The Planning Commission approved the project in March 2024.