What's New?

Countywide Plan Executive Summary is now available

The Executive Summary for the Marin Countywide Plan is now available! You can view it online here or contact Sharon Silver at (415) 473-7874 or ssilver@marincounty.org to order a copy. Copies are available for $25 each.

Amendments to the Marin Countywide Plan

On January 27, 2009, the Marin County Board of Supervisors approved Resolution No. 2009-07 adopting an addendum to the 2007 Marin Countywide Plan Final Environmental Impact Report and amendment to the 2007 Marin Countywide Plan to address a number of technical text and map corrections, provide additional clarification and consistent use of terminology, incorporate the Marin County Operational Area Hazard Mitigation Plan by reference into the Environmental Hazards section, and modify the location of the Baylands Corridor boundary at the San Rafael Rock Quarry and San Quentin State Prison sites. Exhibit "A" in the attached Resolution includes the text and map corrections included in the amendment package.

NEWS RELEASE: National Planning Excellence Award for Implementation

On December 27, 2007, The American Planning Association (APA) named the Marin County, California, Sustainability Program recipient of the 2008 National Planning Excellence Award for Implementation. The program, launched in 1999, establishes a progressive model for incorporating sustainable planning into all aspects of the community's long-term growth including habitat restoration, locally provided food supplies, green building, green business and energy, and affordable housing.

“Marin County’s contribution to sustainable living merits national attention," said 2008 National Planning Awards Jury Chairperson Carol Rhea, AICP. “Their innovations in sustainable community planning and implementation are invaluable to planners and others seeking ways to reduce carbon emissions, protect farmland and open space, and encourage smart growth.”

Representatives from Marin County will receive their award at a luncheon ceremony April 30 during APA’s National Planning Conference. A 30-minute video about all 11 of the 2008 National Planning Excellence, Achievement, and Leadership Awardees will be shown at the luncheon. Accomplishments of the award recipients also will be highlighted in the April 2008 issue of Planning magazine and on the APA website.

Marin’s program has an impressive list of 70 indicators and targets for measuring accomplishments and identifying next steps. Public outreach and education has been extensive, including four working groups consisting of 60 community members and 115 public meetings attended by more than 2,000 people. Elements of the program include a greenhouse gas reduction plan; an analysis of the program’s effect on reducing Marin’s carbon and ecological footprint; and a book identifying local sources of wholesomely grown food.

“Marin County jumps to the very top of the list, statewide, as a leader in both conservation and green community planning, particularly with respect to local responses to our global warming crisis,” said Planning and Conservation League Executive Director Gary Patton. For example, Marin was one of the first counties in the nation to adopt building code amendments that require the energy use of large homes not to exceed that of smaller sized homes in the county.

In keeping with the program, greenhouse gas emissions in public buildings were reduced by 100 tons during a five-year period. Marin's Energy Watch Partnership provided rebates and direct installation of energy efficiency measures that resulted in nearly 2 million kilowatt hours of energy being saved between 2006 and 2007. In 2006, energy conservation measures resulted in 1,000 tons of CO2 not being generated.

Through Marin’s California Youth Energy Services project more than 5,000 compact fluorescent lamps, 300 efficient-flow showerheads, and 900 faucet aerators were installed, helping residents save more than $40,000 annually on energy bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 181 tons. The program also emphasizes the need for infill and affordable housing projects located near jobs, services and public transportation. Mike Moore, President, Bay Area Planning Directors Association said, “Marin County’s efforts will be a lasting and positive influence as other cities and counties start to consider sustainability issues in their own general plan updates.”

Release of the Updated Marin Countywide Plan

The Marin County Community Development Agency is pleased to announce the release of the updated Marin Countywide Plan, which was adopted November 6, 2007 by the Marin County Board of Supervisors. Although the existing Countywide Plan has generally withstood the test of time, the updated Countywide Plan has been updated to reflect the overarching theme of planning sustainable communities. Toward this end the Countywide Plan is one of the first local general plans in the nation to address climate change issues and use the ecological footprint to measure the amount of land and water required to support the average local resident. Similar to the preparation of the original Countywide Plan in 1973, this update has received considerable national and statewide attention. Furthermore, the updated Countywide Plan includes other innovative features such as a series of indicators, benchmarks and targets and addresses a variety of optional topics, for example, public health, that are not required by law.

The Countywide Plan is a comprehensive, long term general plan for the physical development of Marin County and establishes an overall framework and set of goals for countywide development in the unincorporated area of the County.

The Plan is available for free download from the Marin Countywide Plan website at www.future-marin.org. Copies on CD-ROM are also available at no charge while print copies can be purchased for $50. Contact Sharon Silver at ssilver@marincounty.org or 415-473-7874 to place an order. Copies are also available for reference at all local libraries.

New see-it™ Viewer Launched January 16, 2007

The County of Marin has launched a simplified and highly accessible new web-based version of the draft Countywide Plan metrics. A new strategic planning tool called see-it™ developed by Real Living Solutions, which is being adopted by a number of North America cities, was used to integrate the comprehensive 750-page draft Countywide Plan into a single online accessible resource which will allow community members, county and city staff and other stakeholders to track the progress of targets that are set for adoption this year.

The innovative draft Countywide Plan is part of Marin County’s mission to support sustainable communities and to encourage meaningful participation in governance. The draft Plan is built on community-defined principles of sustainability and incorporates indicators and targets in three areas: Natural Systems & Agriculture, the Built Environment, and Socioeconomic Systems.

Community Development Agency staff will also be conducting public workshops with the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors to review and adopt the draft Countywide Plan this year. The see-itTM tool will facilitate and enhance public outreach throughout this process and will allow community members to follow Marin’s progress towards its goals, long into the future.

As you enter the see-it program you will be brought to a home page which displays a central globe graphic surrounded by high-level topics in the three elements of the plan. These topics will display a score (between a minimum of 1 and a maximum 10) and a color (red, amber or green) dependent on how well we are doing against our goals. You can click on these topic areas to explore the sub-level section areas and goal scorecards which include the performance data, targets and background information.

Please click here to enter the Draft Marin Countywide Plan see-it™ viewer.

Interactive Maps on the Web

County staff has created a web-based digital map application that shows digital versions of the maps for the Countywide Plan. Using a web “browser” (Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 or later), you may view, query, “zoom” and “pan” around a graphic representation of administrative boundaries, property boundaries, natural features and/or policy boundaries. Unlike paper maps, the interactive map application allows you to view several map “layers” simultaneously. This shows the relationship between administrative boundaries, property boundaries, natural features and/or policy boundaries. The number of map layers viewable at one time is limited, however, in order that the data can be easily viewed. Because some maps (such as parcels) contain a large amount of content, those maps will not become visible until you “zoom into” a neighborhood. Please click on the Interactive Map link on the Marin Countywide Plan Update home page to use this new feature.