V-162 

 some interests, the Bay would consist of only 187 square miles. 

 Similarly, marshlands and mudflats at the rim of the Bay, once 

 totaling 300 square miles, have been reduced to 75 square miles. 

 The Bay is especially vulnerable to land-fill projects because 

 more than 70 percent of its area is less than 18 feet deep. 



Existing political, administrative, and legal mechanisms were 

 inadequate to protect this invaluable resource. Haphazard plan- 

 ning and zoning practices abounded, with each municipality 

 operating independently of its neighbors. Ownership of the Bay 

 was divided between the State (50 percent), cities and counties 

 (23 percent), the Federal Government (5 percent), and private 

 owners (22 percent), whose titles were often disputed. Moreover, 

 there were differences of opinion on the extent of the public 

 trust, such as whether cities could fill in lands granted to them 

 by the State. 



In January 1969, BCDC filed a final report which included the 

 Commission's detailed study of the Bay (V-3-12). A comprehensive 

 plan was adopted and to maintain and carry out this plan, an 

 appropriate agency was recommended, at an estimated annual cost 

 of $400,000 to $500,000. A bill, the McAteer-Petris Act as 

 amended, implementing the BCDC recommendations and extending 

 its life was enacted in August 1969 (V-3-13). The bill gives the 

 commission in general terms the following powers: To analyze, 

 plan, and regulate the entire Bay and shoreline as a unit with 



