The Navy Finally Sells T.I.

It sounds like the start of a bad joke: How many bureaucrats does it take to buy an island? But the punchline was delivered yesterday when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced that the City had finally struck a deal to purchase Treasure Island from the Navy for $55 million. An additional $50 million "interim payment" will be handed over at some point, though the details of that payment are vague, and the Navy will get a cut of the profits if the development performs above expectations.

Bay Area sailors will recall that the Navy pulled out of T.I. 12 years ago, leaving the island — and Clipper Cove — in a state of limbo. Since the closure of the base in ’97, a deal between the Navy and the City was always said to be "imminent," but never seemed to come to fruition.

Over the last few years, though, the transition seemed to be picking up steam. The City’s Treasure Island Development Authority began, well, developing. Director of Island Operations Mirian Saez helped the Treasure Island Bar & Grill get up and running this summer, and developed a free anchoring permit system to clean up the derelicts that littered Clipper Cove.

That system allows boats to anchor without a permit for 24 hours. If you’re planning to stay less than 96 hours, you simply have to email or call in your boat’s information and expected length of stay. (For what it’s worth, the language of the City ordinance requiring a permit calls for the 24 hour limit — a number TIDA hopes will be changed to 96.) If you need to stay longer, you will have to submit an application for the free permit, which should be available online when the regulations go into effect. (At posting time, we had yet to get confirmation on exactly when this will be — stay tuned to ‘Lectronic for the details.)

For now, the City’s purchase will likely have little effect on Clipper Cove. But once the island begins to seriously develop, a new, bigger marina is on the drawing board. Of course, before more boats can move in, the City will first have to address the issue of the nearly silted-in entrance into the Cove. And that’s no joke.