50-Acre Island in Solano County Heads to Auction Sale

After failing to sell a 50-acre island in Solano County popular with kiteboarders but unpopular with state and federal regulators, John Sweeney is putting it up for public auction.

Sweeney, a resident of Suisun City, will auction Point Buckler Island in Suisun Marsh on the south side of Grizzly Bay, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The auction is slated for Jan. 22 in front of the Solano County Courthouse, in Fairfield.

Bidding starts at zero and will increase by increments of $100. Potential bidders must register with the Solano County Sheriff’s Office by Jan. 7.

The catch: potential buyers must sign a document promising to restore the island, a potentially costly undertaking.

Sweeney bought the island, which had long been used for duck hunting, in 2011 for $150,000, or $3,000 an acre.

Since then, he has used it for private kiteboarding, but ran into trouble with state and federal regulators after he fixed old levees to develop his club. Officials said the work impacted tidal flows and wildlife habitat, which Sweeney denies.

The property is zoned MP1, or marsh preserve 1, according to one real estate company, which says it could allow for the construction of at least one home, contingent on resolving issues with the levees.

In September 2023, Sweeney listed the island for $75 million, an apparent attempt to peddle it to Flannery Associates, now known as California Forever, which used cash from Silicon Valley billionaires to secretly buy 55,000 acres in Solano County hoping to develop a Bay Area city.

The island is now listed by Sotheby’s for $40 million, or $8 million an acre, which include two helipads and a 400-foot deep-water dock.

Sweeney said he wanted to sell the island because he ran out of money, estimating his work on the levees cost him $10.5 million in fines and legal fees.

But the island, accessible via helicopter or boat, got no takers.

Now he said he doesn’t own it — having transferred the island in 2015 to Point Buckler Island LLC, according to the Chronicle. But according to state business records, there’s no such entity.

Sweeney said that he will submit an auction bid of $3.6 million, the value of his mortgage on the island.

The island is subject to regulations and rules in court decisions “requiring its restoration” that would continue to be enforced under new ownership, according to the Chronicle.

Its sale will not relieve Sweeney or Point Buckler Island LLC of “their obligation to comply with all aspects of the federal remedy order and the state orders” from previous legal battles, according to the documents.

“The new owner of the property would also need to allow Sweeney and agency regulators to access the island for compliance with the court orders to restore the island.”

In August, Brock Durning sold a 5.8-acre island in San Francisco Bay that had been listed for $25 million to an unidentified buyer for an undisclosed price.

— Dana Bartholomew