Countywide Plan

On December 6, 2007 the Board of Supervisors adopted a revised Countywide Plan. This will be the document that guides us for the next 20 years.

My goal was to balance the three goals of sustainability: the environment, the economy and social equity. I invite you to read the sections below for the focus I brought to the process.

The County tracks and monitors indicator progress. The 2009 Indicators Report, as well as future releases of the report, are posted at www.marinsustainability.org.

Detailed information and background data for each of these countywide indicators is available to the public at http://marin.visiblestrategies.com, via an interactive display of the countywide indicators that displays information by category, and provides an easy to navigate method to click to see more detail.

St. Vincent’s/Silveira

One of the greatest areas of controversy in the plan was the potential development allowances for the St. Vincent’s/Silveira properties. Public opinion on this issue ranged from wanting no development to wanting the maximum development possible. My goal was to reach a balance between protecting environmental resources, minimizing traffic impacts and providing needed affordable and senior housing.

The board agreed on a 221-home cap on the future development of the two properties, with the opportunity to also build a senior continuum of care facility, as long as the additional development wouldn’t exceed the commute-hour traffic generated by the 221-unit project. The plan also stipulates that this development all must cluster on a 5 percent footprint of the property, minimizing environmental impact. And, 100 of the 221 units built must be affordable.

I am proud to say that this development option was agreed to unanimously by all members of the board of supervisors, endorsed by environmental organizations such as the Audubon Society and Sierra Club of Marin, supported by housing advocates, and was endorsed by the St. Vincent’s property owners.

I would also like to ensure interested constituents that the countywide plan development allowances outlined above do not grant development approvals for the St. Vincent’s/Silveira properties. The countywide plan simply outlines the maximum development allowed.

The property owners will now need to design a project per the outlined criteria, submit a development application to the county and conduct environmental review. A public hearing will be conducted.

Bayland’s Corridor

In the 1994 CWP, the county was divided into three corridors: City Centered, Coastal and Inland Rural. The 2007 draft CWP proposed the addition of a fourth corridor, the Bayland’s Corridor (BLC). Lands falling within the BLC will receive increased environmental protection and restrictions on development proposed near wetlands and streams, but it does not preclude development within the BLC. In addition, any previous uses such as dredging of existing dredged channels or repair of docks are grandfathered in.

Because of increased concerns about the effects of climate change, sea level rise, and the sensitive habitat in the area of the proposed BLC, I was happy to support the establishment of BLC Option 2 proposed in the draft CWP, which was the option endorsed by the Board of Supervisors. This option was the environmentally superior alternative and the option recommended by the Planning Commission.

Agriculture and Trails

The CWP recognizes the importance of agriculture in Marin County and establishes many policies to help ensure the longevity and success of agriculture.

One issue that received a lot of attention in the community was trails on agricultural lands. There are proposed trails in the CWP that cross private property, but these trails will not be built without the consent of the landowner. All trail easements and trail extensions will only occur if the landowner voluntarily agrees to the trail on that property. If they do not agree, then the trail connection will be relocated to a different route, or will not be established. I was supportive of leaving the proposed trails in the CWP only if all reference to extending these trails were made abundantly clear that acquisition of trails would only occur on a voluntary basis with landowners.

There are many other important issues discussed in the countywide plan. If you are interested in learning more, you can visit the county’s website at: http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/CD/main/comdev/ADVANCE/CWP/INDEX.CFM