The owner of a historic Inverness boathouse—possibly the oldest existing structure on Tomales Bay—has applied for a permit to restore the 842-square-foot building and preserve it for launching boats. According to owner Wayne Demmel, the structure is in need of “some serious T.L.C.” and is slated to have a boardwalk and deck reconstructed, an interior overhaul and a new septic system. The permit application includes a historic architectural evaluation, geotechnical study and biological assessment that determined the project could result in potentially significant adverse effects to the bay’s plants and wildlife. An update to that assessment submitted in June recommends several mitigating measures and conditions that would reduce impacts to less-than-significant levels, in accordance with county and California Environmental Quality Act requirements. The county planner for the project, Tammy Taylor, said environmental impacts need clarifying and would have to be resolved before she could deem the application complete. The project’s architect, Michael Rex, said the renovation will take some time, but that, once restored, the boathouse would pay homage to its heritage. “This is not a business deal,” he said. “This is a passion of an owner who wants to preserve what exists in the most responsible way.” Mr. Demmel, a Lagunitas resident and horticulturalist who has owned the boathouse since 1986, said he intends to use it for weekend jaunts and will store, repair and launch his two sailboats from it. The prominent Shafter-Hamilton family originally owned the boathouse, along with around 13,000 acres of land extending from Tomales Bay to Drakes Bay. The structure’s existence dates back to at least 1912, the date of the first known photograph of it. In 1924, Julia Shafter-Hamilton leased it to William Colby, a Berkeley lawyer and outdoorsman who served as the Sierra Club’s secretary for nearly 50 years starting in 1900 and was the first chairman of the California State Park’s Commission. He bought it in 1941 before selling to Mr. Demmel 45 years later. The boathouse is located at Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Argyle Street, on the property that, several years ago, briefly housed Manka’s Inverness Lodge’s bright yellow “M.”
This article was amended on Aug. 7.