City of Berkeley v. Superior Court

Opinion

MOSK, J.

We are concerned in this case with whether tidelands1 in San Francisco Bay granted to private parties by the state Board of Tide Land Commissioners (board) in the latter part *519of the 19th century, pursuant to a legislative act passed in 1870, conveyed title to the purchasers free of the public trust for commerce, navigation, fishing, and related uses. Knudson v. Kearney (1915) 171 Cal. 250 [152 P. 541], and Alameda Conservation Association v. City of Alameda (1968) 264 Cal.App.2d 284 [70 Cal.Rptr. 264], held that these grants were in fee simple and not subject to the rights of…