NEWS & EVENTS, PROGRAMS OF SIGNIFICANCE TO OUR CONSTITUENTS

St. Vincent's/Silveira Ranch

When viewed from the 101 freeway, the bucolic ranch lands of Silveira Ranch, and the adjacent property of St Vincent’s School and Chapel, remind people of the way California once looked. The open vistas of a working dairy ranch meeting the San Pablo Bay was once a common sight in the North Bay. One by one, these vistas have been converted to housing and commercial developments.

The approximately 1,110 acre St. Vincent’s/Silveira properties are largely undeveloped lands, including the tidelands and diked baylands of San Pablo Bay, open grasslands, oak woodlands and a riparian woodland along Miller Creek. These lands also act as a community separator between Marinwood/Terra Linda and the City of Novato.

The 1994 Marin Countywide plan presumed that the City of San Rafael would annex these two parcels and develop the lands within the city of San Rafael. There was a tug-of-war of sorts between the County of Marin and the City of San Rafael regarding which governmental entity would have jurisdiction over the site. Several San Rafael elected officials backed a more aggressive plan for a large scale development and were intending to annex these lands into the San Rafael city limit.

Shortly after Susan joined the Board of Supervisors, the City of San Rafael City Council voted to drop the Silveira/ St Vincent’s properties from the city’s sphere of influence, putting full control of the land use policies with the County of Marin. Susan was committed to curtailing, as much as possible, the development of the lands. As the Countywide Plan was in the beginning stages of a major revision, County planners, staff, the public and the Supervisors were in a position to take a fresh look at the land use criteria for these properties.

After a comprehensive study of the lands by the Marin County Planning Department, the findings indicated that there were a number of protected resource areas on the St. Vincent’s and Silveira lands, which include tideland; diked baylands; Miller creek and its riparian corridor; lands within the 100-year floodplain; and hills leading up to Pacheco Ridge at the northern boundary of the site.

As a result of the approved 2007 Countywide Plan, a fourth planning corridor was created. The new Baylands Corridor was established to protect important baylands and large adjacent undeveloped uplands along the San Pablo and San Francisco bays.

The current Marin Countywide Plan will now preserve a large majority of these lands. The properties are assigned the Planning Designation; Agricultural and Environmental Resource Area land use category. Potential uses include agriculture and related uses, residential development, education and tourism, places of worship, institutional uses, and small-scale hospitality uses.

The Board applied the criteria set forth in the Countywide Plan and set the planning guidelines for this site to include up to 221 dwelling units for the combined St. Vincent’s and Silveira sites with up to 121 market-rate dwelling units plus up to 100 additional units for very low income households. Dwelling units shall be allocated proportionally to the respective St. Vincent’s and Silveira areas, based on the total acreage of each parcel. The siting of development was designed to protect the resource areas and be concentrated in an area that will not interfere with the view corridor from the highway out to the baylands.

To date, no plans have been submitted to Planning for consideration.

The Countywide Plan

The Countywide Plan was updated in 2007. The Countywide Plan reflects Marin’s environmental sensibility including the benefits of providing more affordable housing near public transportation and jobs. The plan also recognizes that Marin cannot just build its way out of fossil-fuel addiction and must also retrofit existing buildings and increase the use of fuel-efficient transportation to realize a significant energy reduction. The plan calls for environmentally friendly building techniques and energy-efficiency standards in excess of state requirements. Other innovations include the goal of reducing our ecological footprint to Western European levels, and using benchmarks to track our progress in implementing the plan. You may visit www.future-marin.org to see the Plan as approved by the Board.

Marinwood Village Update

Community leaders testified at the Board of Supervisors meeting on September 26, 2006, to the Marinwood community planning process which resulted in the Marinwood Village Conceptual Plan. To hear the testimony of some of those who took part in that planning process, go to http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/BS/main/index.cfm, click on Live Video Broadcast, and go to September 26, 2006 meeting. Comment starts at 25:29 with Dave Mitchell, followed by Bruce Anderson, John Hammond, Frank Nelson at 36:10.

As of February, 2012, BRIDGE Housing has reached agreement with Gerry Hoytt to purchase approximately 3.5 acres of the Marinwood Plaza site. BRIDGE Housing is very excited to now have the opportunity to work with the community on the second phase (the Marinwood Market being the first) of the Marinwood Village development and fulfill the vision created by the community for this site.

We will be working with BRIDGE Housing and County Planners to re-convene the community group.

For meeting notes on the recent community meetings on development of Marinwood Village,
go to: Marinwood Village Update page.

Marin’s Sustainability Team

Take a look at the array of programs the County of Marin has developed to help us move as a community towards sustainability. These programs are designed to serve the residents and businesses of Marin now and in the future. To speak with a member of the Sustainability Team, call Dawn Weisz at 415-507-2706 or email her at dweisz@co.marin.ca.us. The following website is a wealth of information. www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/CD/main/comdev/advance/Sustainability.cfm

San Rafael Rock Quarry

In 1982, under a former owner/operator, the San Rafael Rock Quarry was rezoned from an industrial category to a mixed use residential/retail designation. The rezoning meant that the Quarry became an incompatible use under the zoning but mining activities were grandfathered in and allowed to continue under the condition that expansion of use would not be allowed.

Between 1986 and 2000, under Dutra ownership, mining operations violated the mining permits by blasting deeper and wider in the bowl, helicopters were landing on the property, truck traffic was increasing, and complaints from nearby residents increased as to the blasts, increased dust from the blast plumes and diesel emissions from truck traffic. In 2000, a grand jury report identified many of these problems and as a result, the County, state attorney general and members of the community initiated legal action.

The courts ruled that an administrative process would be needed to determine whether or not the Quarry should remain in operation and if so, at what level. An Environmental Review Process was initiated.

The California Environmental Quality Act process requires that proposed land use changes be evaluated for environmental impacts. The initial study on the amended surface mining and quarry permit was issued in June, 2007, recommending that a full environmental impact review be conducted. Public scoping sessions on the permit and reclamation plan were held in 2007 and the reports on the amended reclamation plan and permit EIR were released to the public in 2008. Several public meetings with the Board of Supervisors were held in 2009. Public comment was taken as to the adequacy of the reports. After lengthy public comment, discussion and expert testimony, the Board certified the environmental impact reports as adequate and complete. Since then the Department of Public Works has been meeting with the parties to attempt to identify operating conditions that would be acceptable to all concerned.

During the process of litigation and administrative review, the Quarry and the parties representing the surrounding neighborhoods have met in an attempt to identify areas of greatest impacts and opportunities for the Quarry to mitigate these impacts. Much has been achieved, including an agreement by the Quarry to change out the decks of their barges to concrete, to lower the noise level during the loading process, changing out all of its internal material moving equipment to the latest technology in diesel trucks to reduce particulate matter associated with diesel engines, cover the loads of trucks leaving the Quarry to reduce dust impacts along Pt. San Pedro Road, meter the trucks leaving the Quarry to reduce the congestion of truck traffic west bound along Pt. San Pedro Road, cover some of the rock crushing operations to reduce ambient dust and noise impacts.

While the state has asserted that the Quarry provides an essential service, it is up to the County to specify, through a permit, operating conditions such as hours of operation, numbers of truck trips and any provision for ongoing monitoring. It is anticipated that the San Rafael Rock Quarry will be submitting its proposed operating conditions sometime in 2010 and the final determination will be made by the Board of Supervisors at the permitting hearings.

See website: www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/pw/main/quarry.cfm. If you have questions about Quarry operations or the timing of the permit, contact Berenice Davidson at 499-3770 or bdavidson@co.marin.ca.us

Emergency Preparedness

Being prepared in the event of a natural disaster, earthquake or situation that might require “shelter in place” can be done on a community level, neighborhood level or in one’s own home. For those who have the time and interest in helping one’s community through such an event, excellent training is available through Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT, formerly DART). The goal is for individuals to be self sustaining for the first 72 hours of a disaster. Individuals, families, and local communities must take personal responsibility for their own safety and welfare and be prepared to be isolated, without outside resources, in a variety of different disaster scenarios.

The First District’s San Rafael Fire Department and Marinwood Fire Department conduct trainings in disaster preparedness. Those interested in taking CERT classes or want to “Get Ready”, can contact the San Rafael Office of Emergency Services, Angela, at 458-5002, or go to the website for more information: www.sroes.org. Those who live in Marinwood and are interested in CERT training can call Fire Chief Tom Roach at 479-0122 or go to their website: www.marinwoodfire.org.

Get Ready Marin!

THE GOAL:

The Get Ready program’s goal is to prepare 100% of households in Marin County with the necessary skills and information to survive and cope with a disaster for five to seven days.

THE BENEFITS:

• Prepared citizens means reduced injuries and illnesses due to a disaster
• A reduction to the over-burdened emergency first responders
• A reduction to the over-burdened hospitals and urgent care centers
• A reduction in the financial burden the county will bear due to disaster
• A stronger community: people helping each other
• Gain the necessary information to protect your family during a disaster

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

• Get trained!
• Spread the word! Let your neighbors know about the program
• Recommend someone you think would make an excellent trainer
• Host a training by providing a venue in your home or business

To find out about training dates and locations visit website www.getreadymarin.org, or call (415) 485-3131.

Marin Medical Reserve Corp, recipient of the 2009 Surgeon General’s Resiliency Award

Those who have medical training and are interested in being available as responders can be trained as part of our Marin Medical Reserve Corp (MMRC). This is a “community based” volunteer program which allows Medical and Mental Health professionals to volunteer their time and skills during a disaster. The training is “all hazards” for health clinics, field hospitals set up in neighborhoods or augmenting hospital staff. MMRC is recognized nationally and at the state level as one of the “best practices” Medical Reserve Corps units in existence. Members participate in hospital drills, regional exercises and mutual aid situations that may arise. For further information, contact MMRC Program Direction Brian Waterbury at 927-7118 or by email at bwaterbury@co.marin.ca.us.

For more information on the County’s preparedness efforts, you will find the following website very helpful.

Emergency Preparedness

Get Ready Marin

Swine Flu

Swine Flu is anticipated to be widespread this flu season. A virus that typically transmits between pigs, the influenza A H1N1 mutated and found its way into human hosts who have not yet developed antibodies against this virus.

This virus has spread throughout the world, pointing out the importance of a global approach to health care. The rapid movement from a level 3 status to a level 5 over the past couple of months (with level 6 being full pandemic) is sobering and while most cases in the United States have proven to be mild, it has been the cause of death in normally healthy people, as well as those with compromised immune systems.

The Marin County web site, www.marinflu.org is a rich lode of up to date information on current flu conditions close to home. There is no need for panic, but the real message here is: prevention (good hygiene) is the best medicine. Wash your hands frequently, cough into your shirt sleeve or use tissues and wash hands immediately after throwing them away. Avoid contact with those who are coughing or who have fevers. If you are sick, stay home and avoid contact with others until you are fully recovered. If you have a sore throat, cough and a fever over 100 degrees, contact your health care provider. Antiviral medications have been effective in minimizing symptoms and shortening the course of the illness.

The fact that 47 million Americans lack insurance and access to health care could be a factor in determining how well we weather these storms. Many working Americans do not have insurance or sick day benefits. This current public health threat sheds light on the importance of the need for immediate attention to creating a national universal comprehensive system of health care. Hopefully the Obama administration and Congress are effectively moving us in that direction.

Access to Healthcare

The Marin County Health and Wellness Campus was officially opened the end of 2008. This Gold LEED certified complex was built using Tobacco Class Action settlement funds and lease savings. Non-profit partners including Marin Community Clinics, Buckalew, Community Action Marin and others are providing comprehensive health services to the people of Marin who are low income or who do not have health insurance. For a tour of Marin’s Health and Wellness Campus, a LEED certified green building offering one-stop shopping for healthcare and mental health related services, go to: http://www.co.marin.ca.us/G-Channel/Default.aspx. Enter Health and Wellness Campus in the search box.

Managed care for Medi-Cal eligible residents has come to Marin County. As of July 1st, 2011, 16,000 Marin residents with full scope Medi-Cal have a new managed care health plan: Partnership HealthPlan of California (PHC). Partnership is a non-profit health plan that provides Medi-Cal benefits to several California Counties including Solano, Yolo, Napa and Sonoma Counties. For more information, go to: http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/HH/Main/ss/PartnershipHealth/

Marin Clean Energy Update

Under AB 32 legislative mandates, local governments are called upon to meet the challenge of climate change and significantly reduce our current greenhouse gas emissions.

With its promise of accomplishing these goals, Marin Clean Energy was adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 2008 and a Joint Powers Authority was created in the form of Marin Energy Authority, to collectively study, promote, develop and manage energy programs with the potential of meeting the mandates of AB32 and decreasing energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.

The MEA Board has contracted with Shell Energy North America to secure energy supply and price stability, energy efficiencies and local economic benefits. MEA includes the following jurisdictions.

• City of Belvedere
• Town of Fairfax
• County of Marin
• City of Mill Valley
• Town of San Anselmo
• City of San Rafael
• City of Sausalito
• Town of Tiburon

Phase 1 customers received their first opt-out notices in March, 2010. Customers will have four chances to opt out.

Why is only a customer "opt-out" option proposed?

The Community Choice Aggregation law (AB117) requires the customer opt-out approach. The legislature decided that the opt-out approach is a way to ensure a critical mass of customer load to make the CCA viable without mandating that any customer be part of the CCA. The law also defines a clear process and time period for customer notification to ensure customers are aware of, and have a simple method to opt out. Customers will receive four notices and opportunities to opt-out of the program without penalty of any kind, twice within the 60 days prior to enrollment, and twice within the first two months of service. After this time, a customer would still have the right to choose between MCE and PG&E.

For the latest information on Marin Clean Energy, go to the website: www.marincleanenergy.info or www.marinenergyauthority.org

For an in-depth look at the issues by Peter Seidman of the Pacific Sun, see his article at:
http://pacificsun.com/story_print.php?story_id=3778

Integrated Pest Management Ordinance and Policy

On July 22, 3009, the Board of Supervisors approved a new Ordinance and Policy, providing transparency and accountability to the public with respect to the use of pesticides on County government properties. A dedicated website provides the public with information about the integrated pest management program and education that will hopefully encourage individuals to discover safer effective ways to manage pests in their own homes. Go to the website to read the Ordinance, Policy and get information on IPM: http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/AG/Main/IPM/ipmprogramhome.cfm

Criminal Justice Behavioral Health Committee

Department heads and division leaders of the Criminal Justice and Health and Human Services agencies meet quarterly with community based organizations with the common commitment to serve those involved in the Criminal Justice system who also have mental health or substance abuse issues. This committee offers a unique way for these departments, who have historically worked in silos due to their funding sources and reporting requirements; to work together creatively on solutions that cross barriers that often exist between departments. The Committee works to incorporate models of restorative justice practices into the criminal justice system. These conversations and brainstorming sessions at such a high level are especially important as funding resources tighten. These programs have demonstrated great success over the years. Minutes of these meetings, which are open to the public, will be posted here each quarter.

Jail Study Marin Final Report

Meeting Minutes - July 27,2011

Meeting Minutes - April 27,2011

Meeting Minutes - October 27, 2010

Meeting Minutes - July 21, 2010

Meeting Minutes - April 28, 2010

Meeting Minutes - January 27, 2010

Meeting Minutes - July 15, 2009

Ending Homelessness in Marin

There were 1,007 homeless persons in Marin County according to the One-Day Count conducted in January, 2007. In January, 2009 that population grew to 1,770. In addition, the 2009 count attempted to capture those people "precariously housed". These are people who are on the edge of becoming homeless, at risk of falling into the unsheltered category tracked by HUD. They may be doubled up with friends or family, living day to day at the invitation of another, which at any point could be taken away. It is hard to imagine how difficult it would be for children to do their homework and get a good night's sleep and be ready for school when living in a car.

The Point in Time Homeless Count 2011 shows a reduction in the number of people who are unsheltered, sheltered or precariously housed. It could be argued that the collective efforts of various initiatives and housing assistance programs has been successful in moving persons experiencing homelessness into permanent housing and preventing homelessness via short-term financial support and case management. One-day counts often underestimate the number of people experiencing homelessness. While not exact, research shows that a greater number of individuals and families become homeless during the course of a year compared to the count captured during the point-in-time census.

The Homelessness Policy Steering Committee meetings identified the greatest need to be stable housing for the chronically homeless, and to find stable housing for these individuals would result in a reduction in their utilization of high cost services including repeated incarceration and emergency room visits. The County continues to work with community partners to connect individuals with appropriate support services and programs. Congregations throughout Marin have been generous with their physical space as well as their humanity in reaching out to provide shelter and compassion during the winter season. Marin Organizing Committee was the driving force in getting this started and the faith community continues to provide a safe and dry place for people without a place to stay during the inclement weather. Community based organizations including Homeward Bound, the Ritter Center, St. Vincent’s de Paul are the door through which most people on the street pass, looking for a meal, a bed, a shower, a change of clothes, or a change in their lives.

More information on homelessness in Marin, and the programs and service available in Marin can be found at the Home For All website: http://www.homeforallmarin.org

Contact Susannah Clark at 473-7342 or sclark@marincounty.org for more information, or our homelessness services analyst, Lisa Sepahi, ssepahi@marincounty.org.

Article in Pacific Sun, April 7, 2011, "Homeless count down, 'at risk' count up"

by Jason Walsh

Marin has had some genuine success over the last two years in alleviating its homeless problem-but that success is tenuous at best, according to a study by Marin County Health and Human Services.

The health department's Point in Time Homeless County-a single-day census of the county homeless community-was conducted Jan. 27 and results released Wednesday identified 1,220 homeless people in Marin. The numbers show an encouraging improvement since the last Point in Time count in 2009, which found 1,770 county folks without a home. But Health and Human Services officials say the findings are a mixed bag, as the number of "precariously housed" stands at 4,103-up significantly from two years ago when 3,028 were identified as "precariously housed," reflecting people facing eviction, living in severely overcrowded housing or couch surfing.

According to the health department, the drop in homelessness-which included folks living in cars, parks, in the street or at emergency shelters-can be attributed to the infusion of $2 million in federal stimulus funds that began in 2009. The one-time stimulus package went toward finding permanent accommodations for 35 homeless veterans; "rapidly housing" 658 homeless adults and children; and the opening of the Fireside in Tam Junction where 10 families and eight seniors were given permanent housing. More than 1,500 others were also assisted through the stimulus money.

From a longer view, though, Marin's homeless problem appears to be worsening-despite an improvement in this year's count, the overall homeless population is still more than 200 higher than it was in 2005, when the first Point in Time census took place

Health and Human Services Director Larry Meredith says the stimulus funds were crucial in lowering the homeless numbers-and the policy direction of finding homes for people as a first step toward stabilizing their lives seems to be the way forward.

But, cautions Meredith, "the continued depressed economic conditions combined with budget uncertainties will continue to place too many at risk of homelessness."

Watershed Preservation and Flood Control

If you are a resident of Lucas Valley/Marinwood and are interested in discovering ways to protect and enhance the Miller Creek Watershed-stretching from Big Rock to the Bay, want to improve the quality of life in your neighborhood, protect endangered species and help to reduce the expense of watershed maintenance, please consider becoming a Steward of the Miller Creek Watershed.

The creek width dictates the amount bank erosion that may be caused by swifter moving water in a narrow channel. The control of further bank erosion, especially the control of erosion presently occurring behind the properties of several residents on Miller Creek, is of prime concern and is one of the major goals for the Miller Creek Watershed Stewards and the other support groups.

The historical background and mapping of Miller Creek was conducted by the San Francisco Estuary Institute. More information will be shared as it becomes available.

For additional information about the Watershed Project and how you can become a Miller Creek Watershed Steward, call Mike Elgie at 472-5947.

The Gallinas Creek watershed is of great interest to the Santa Venetia community. A combination of pump stations, levees and culverts protect the community from flooding. The marshlands and tidal waters provide rich habitat for a variety of plant and animal wildlife. The County has been working with the Army Corps of Engineers on a study of the levee system to determine the condition and costs for repair and/or enhancement, at the same time we have been lobbying state and federal elected officials to fund infrastructure and watershed improvements for the area.

Go to http://marinwatersheds.org/ for more information on Marin’s watersheds.

Flood Control Zone 7 Community Meeting re: Capital Improvements, May 2010

Civic Center Master Planning Process

Master site to describe project, determine status and link to all relevant reports:
www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/AD/main/EOC/eochome.cfm

Master design guidelines:
www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/AD/Main/MasterPG.cfm

The Gensler Facilities Master Plan completed in 2002 also reviewed potential development sites in the Recommendations section part 1, page D10 - D13. The link is:
www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/AD/main/FacilitiesMasterPlan.cfm

Marin Center Master Plan Final Report from April, 2005, posted on the web site at:
www.marincenterproject.org

The Facilities Master Plan led to the Heller Manus more detailed study of the sites and subsequent Board workshop in 2003, recommending the feasibility study by Beverly Prior Architects in 2005, which was the workshop in January 2006.

The letter submitted to the Board of Supervisors for its December 12, 2006 meeting can be found at the following site:
www.co.marin.ca.us/EFiles/BS/AgMn/agdocs/061212/061212-9-AD-LTR-LTR.pdf

Link to the presentation made to the Board of Supervisors by Beverly Prior Architects:
www.co.marin.ca.us/EFiles/BS/AgMn/agdocs/061212/061212-9-AD-ATTACH-AGR.pdf

Neighborhood Shuttles

Are you a resident of Marinwood or Terra Linda? Hop aboard the Marin Transit 259 Shuttle. It’s up to you to show it is a valuable and worthwhile asset in your neighborhood. If we don’t use it, we lose it!

The Route 233 Shuttle services Santa Venetia, San Rafael Transit Center and Civic Center. Please consider taking a ride and see what it can do for you. Go to the Marin Transit website for more information: http://www.marintransit.org/

Civic Center Volunteers

Are you recently retired and desire a diversion from all that free time? Are you interested in meeting new and exciting people while learning new skills? Have you ever thought about becoming a Civic Center Volunteer? Volunteers provide services that translates to millions of dollars of savings each year to the county taxpayers.

The Civic Center Volunteers (CCV) was founded in 1979, and is an internationally recognized innovative volunteer program. Last year the Civic Center Volunteers delivered more than eight million dollars in services to the citizens of Marin!

To join the ranks, call Joan Brown, volunteer coordinator at 499-7167. For more detailed information regarding the volunteer program and the current opportunities available, you may go to www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/HR/ccvol/index.cfm. Do yourself and Marin County a favor; volunteer. You will be glad you did.

Boards & Commissions

Be part of the public process by serving on one of a variety of boards and commissions that are advisory to the Board of Supervisors. You can review the duties and purpose of the various commissions and committees, see the meeting schedules and submit an application for consideration by the Board of Supervisors without leaving the confines of your home computer area. Go to: http://www.co.marin.ca.us. click on Board of Supervisors and then Boards and Commissions.

You may also call the Board of Supervisors Clerk, Patrice Stancato, @ 499-7332 and ask for an application through the mail. Patrice can also inform you of the duties, meeting times, etc. of the commission/committee of your choice.

Banning Plastic Bags

On January 18, 2011 the Board of Supervisors voted 4-0, with Supervisor Brown absent, to adopt an ordinance regulating the provision of single-use carry out bags by approximately forty (40) retail establishments located within the unincorporated areas (outside of Marin’s city limits) of Marin County. The ordinance prohibits the use of single-use carry-out plastic bags and requires the retail establishments, as defined in the ordinance, to charge for the cost, not less than five cents, for recycled content single-use paper bags.

Currently, the forty effected stores within unincorporated Marin County are drug stores, pharmacies, supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience food stores, food marts or other entities engaged in the retail sale of a limited line of goods that include milk, bread, soda, and snack foods, including stores with Type 20 or 21 license issued by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

In order for the stores and consumers to have the time to comply with the ordinance and to locate reusable bags as alternatives to plastic bags, the ordinance will take effect on January 1, 2012.

Enforcement of the ordinance will be administered by the Agricultural Commissioner using his authority as the Director of the Department of Weights and Measures during routine inspection of store scales, cash registers and scanners at retail establishments.

"Let's get rid of the damn bags," says Marin County Supervisor Charles McGlashan.

He's talking about plastic grocery bags, which clog storm drains, stuff landfills, kill birds and marine life and otherwise foul the environment. They also cost taxpayers a bundle to clean up.

For the past two years, McGlashan and fellow supervisor Susan Adams, who represents San Rafael, have led the local government push to ban single-use plastics bags, and restrict the use of paper bags, which aren't good for the environment, either. They put their planned county ordinance on hold when the California legislature appeared ready to pass a statewide bag ban. But when the measure failed in the state senate in September – thanks to heavy lobbying from the American Chemistry Council – the Marin supes took up where they left off.

At the Board of Supervisors meeting Dec. 7, they'll introduce a draft ordinance that would ban stores in unincorporated parts of the county from giving customers carry-out plastic bags, and require them to provide paper bags on request for a nickel a piece. You'd still be able to put your veggies, meats and nuts in plastic bags while shopping. The ordinance, drafted after much input from grocers, environmentalists, business people and city officials from San Rafael and other local communities, is a template for bag-banning legislation that San Rafael officials are exploring.

"Let's move people to reusable bags. That's what our grandparents used," says McGlashan, who notes that 45 local jurisdictions across the state are working to ban single-use plastic bags and impose a fee on paper ones. He'll be among the officials from many towns joining the current governor and his predecessor in Sacramento on Nov. 29, a day of bag-banning solidarity. In Ireland and Washington, D.C., where customers have to pay 5 cents per paper bag, paper bag use has reportedly dropped 90 percent.

According to McGlashan, Novato's Waste Management Inc. has a full-time employee who does nothing but chase plastic bags so they don't blow off the Novato landfill into the Petaluma River marsh. Consumers end up footing the cost of that and other plastic waste cleanup. "Talk about a stupid public expense," he says.

Adams agrees.

"We want to eliminate plastic bags because they're harmful to the environment – the birds and the waterways – and they cost us a lot to clean up," says Adams. She played a role in the county's banning of Polystyrene (Styrofoam) take-out containers from restaurants and stores in unincorporated areas. Now, only biodegradable containers, like compost-able cardboard, can be used.

"I bring my own Tupperware with me when I take out," Adams says. "It raised a few eyebrows the first time I did it," she adds with a laugh.

The county ordinance, which is expected to pass, won't take effect until January, 2012. Fines for non-compliance – the county calls them "re-inspection fees," because stores that don't comply have to be re-inspected by the Agricultural Weights and Measures department – range from $135 to $440, depending on the size of the store and the number of violations.

Last week the San Rafael City Council got a bag-banning presentation from McGlashan aide Maureen Parton, members of the spiritual-environmental group Green Sangha and others. It has directed Community Development Director Bob Brown to form a broad-based advisory panel to examine the plastic bag question, with an eye toward passing legislation. (Fairfax already bans plastic bags. Voters there passed their own ordinance, thereby getting around American Chemistry Council lawsuits that have stymied many cities by requiring them to do costly environmental impact reports.)

The Marin County draft ordinance "is a model for other cities, and we're biting," Brown says. Only 5 percent of the 19 billion plastic bags Californians use annually get recycled. The rest end up in landfills (where they take eons to decompose), creek beds and bay fronts, Brown adds. The problem "is unsightly, unhealthy and costly."

Brown figures his outreach efforts and advisory panel discussions will take about six months before the city staff is ready to make a recommendation to the city council. If the council were to enact a bag-banning ordinance, it wouldn't take effect until the county measure does, in 2012.

"I know the local grocers seems to be in favor of this, if for no other reason than it saves them a lot of money," Brown says. As to whether a plastic bag-ban would extend beyond groceries stores and pharmacies to all retailers, "We'll have to see how small retailers feel about that."

Real Pension Solutions

Nearly everybody agrees that public employee pension systems need reform. State government has done very little to address the issue with respect to state pensions, however, the county has taken several steps to rein in our long-term costs.

I do not participate in the county pension plan which allows me the opportunity to consider pension issues from a non-vested perspective.

Although much of our pension liability has already been incurred and is legally binding, the county has taken steps to reduce our long-term costs. For example, retiree health benefits for new employees have been substantially reduced, saving taxpayers tens of millions of dollars over the next 30 years. Over the past three years, we have eliminated 180 positions (thus fewer pensioned positions). The county is working with our employees to create new, more cost effective health benefit plans and a new retirement tier that increases the age for retirement.

Employees already contribute a portion of their salaries to their retirement (tax payers do not pay the whole tab on top of salaries as has been implied by some). The county doesn’t allow spiking and uses a 3 year salary averaging to determine the retirement benefit.

The county has been proactive in challenging a proposal by the Retirement Board to provide “excess funds” to retirees at a time when the obligations aren’t fully funded. There are currently no true excesses. Most county staff have not received cost of living increases.

Our librarians, firefighters, paramedics, nurses, road crews, park rangers, accountants, law enforcement officers, clerks, planners, engineers, transit operators, in-home support workers, probation officers, attorneys, dispatchers, and others (including volunteers who provide $10 million of in-kind work for the county) work hard for the people of Marin and deserve our thanks and fair compensation. We are working with our employees to implement real reforms that control our pension costs and save taxpayers real money over the long run.

Sustainable Communities

Sustainable Communities Strategy—Regional planning for our future

As the vice president of ABAG 2011, Susan is working with Marin and other Bay Area elected members to address some of the challenging aspects in determining local housing allocations as distributed by the state. The State’s Housing and Community Development Agency (HCD) calculates the future growth in our state and determines the number of housing units in all income categories needed to address the growth. The Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA, also referred to phonetically as “reena”) is determined using data such as the census count, number of jobs created, population growth through birth and migration, etc. The state allocates these numbers to local regions and in particular to the local councils of governments (COGs) in the state. Sacramento, San Diego, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area have COGs. The SF Bay Area’s COG is the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). ABAG takes the numbers distributed by the state and begins to work on the methodology to decide how our 101 cities and towns and 9 counties will meet the state’s RHNA allocation.

The original state legislation was created in part to address the concerns that a full range of housing was not being built to address the growth in our region and in the state. The types and numbers of jobs being created contribute to the calculation of the final housing numbers. Cities derive much of their revenues through sales taxes from retail. Retail sales jobs typically pay lower wages e.g. Big Box retail. Lower paying jobs also create the obligation to build the housing for the workers in those jobs.

People are commuting longer distances to find affordable housing away from their work and contributing to traffic gridlock and greenhouse gas emissions. SB375 adds a new dimension to the housing element by linking air quality and emissions…jobs, housing and transportation links…to the calculation. The regulators determine what can and can not count as housing and decide how to allocate the housing numbers based on the range of factors for a range of housing at a variety of income levels.

In a county like Marin, which is suburban/rural, where growth has been slow and where land prices are expensive, creative options for creating the full range of housing are currently not allowed to be counted. For example, the Habitat for Humanity conversions of blighted housing into deed restricted affordable housing is not counted. The conversions the county made in Southern Marin from market rate to affordable housing was only given credit for ¼ of the conversions. Senior assisted living units for our rapidly aging population; co-operative housing for those who need wrap around services and some types of farm worker housing are not counted, yet we need to consider the housing needs for all of our community as we plan for how we will or will not grow.

What we now have is a state imposed one size fits all dysfunctional approach to creating sustainable communities. ABAG is trying to address this through the Sustainable Communities Strategy where growth is being directed toward the more urbanized areas where transit and jobs are located. Preserving the open spaces and agricultural areas as a region is also important so we don’t end up with the sprawl of southern California. But if we are growing jobs and our population in Marin, we will also share a small part of the regional obligation to create the housing for the people who will be living and working in our communities. San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland have taken on tens of thousands of units in the past cycle and will likely bear much of the burden for the regional development going forward.

Our board sent a letter to our state legislators and is working with our lobbyist to change Marin’s designation from urban to suburban which would change the requirement of 30 units per acre to 20 units per acre. Our board also set a legislative agenda and gave direction to our lobbyist to address the way we are able to count our housing in our community to be more reflective of local needs. Our state legislators need to take up the cause with us. There are many powerful forces in the state that will continue to argue against what we are asking and it will take political courage from Assemblymember Huffman and Senator Leno to push forward with us. We remain committed to pushing for this in my role at ABAG.

There will also be opportunities for the public to become more engaged in the “Sustainable Communities” process in the coming months, which started with a kick off presentation that the Transportation Authority of Marin meeting 2/24 at 7 PM at the Civic Center. To view this, you can go to the G Channel: http://www.co.marin.ca.us/g-channel/Default.aspx or http://www.tam.ca.gov/index.aspx?page=185.