Sunday, December 2, 2012

Supervisor Susan Adams Sez

Supervisor Susan Adams, District One and Marinwood neighbor

Editor's Note: This is an article printed in entirety from Susan Adams December Newsletter.  Editorial comments appear in highlighted in yellow.


Marinwood Village Update: A second community-wide meeting will be held December 4th at 6:30PM at Mary Silveira Elementary, 375 Black-stone Drive

BRIDGE’s involvement with the redevelopment of Marinwood Plaza comes after nearly 7 years’ worth of extensive community participation (only a handful of selected residents and activists meeting behind closed doors), including the process that resulted in the Guiding Principles both with the County-led process and with prior efforts to develop the site.

BRIDGE’s master planning process has been aided tremendously by the work that has been completed since 2005(the previous plan while similiar, was primarily market rate housing that would add to the tax base The current plan is for tax exempt property and subsidized tenants. The previous plan was by no means decided as it was only fleshed out in general terms. It still was quite controversial). In order to further refine the conceptual plan adopted by the County Board of Supervisors, we have been meeting with a smaller group of local residentsa group of about 20 people, all of whom have been actively involved with this site and the plans for its rede-velopment for many years. This group includes members of the Marinwood Community Facilities District, representatives of the Casa Marinwood HOA, a board member of the Dixie School dis-trict, and other long time Marinwood residents. ( Over  43% of residents have moved in since 2007. Are current resident's opinions less valid? The group include government contractors, housing activists, smart growth advocates all of whom have a vested interest in the development.  If it was truely a representative body, why were the meeting held in private?)

We held 4 meetings with this focus group to develop the outlines of a plan that would satisfy the goals that the original planning process identified (Guiding Principles). (Guiding principles were predetermined by staff and political insiders) The 4 meetings focused on the elements of the Northern portion of the site, which continues to be a location for neighbor-hood serving retail and a neighborhood gathering place (having an affordable grocery store closeby was the main concern of 95% of the residents, housing was only accepted when the developer claimed it would not be profitable without housing.  The insistance by the county that the developer gift 50% of the housing to affordable housing made the deal financially unreasonable), alterations to Marinwood Avenue to re-duce the width of the right of way and to create a street that is more in line with a residential neighborhood, and, lastly, we discussed the massing and architecture of the residential compo-nents planned for the southern end of the site.
The Community-Wide Open House held Satur-day, October 27th (This was the first meeting every held for the public.  The crowd was overwhelming opposed to forcing affordable housing on the community without key questions about the impact on our schools, parking, environment and our taxes. Other residents were concerned that  Marinwood Plaza should be 100% commercial since it is the only site that abutts the 101 highway.) It is focused on those same key elements of the plan and sought feedback from the broader community to inform the development of a final master plan. More questions were asked than answered.

A second community-wide meeting will be held December 4th at 6:30PM at Mary Silveira Elementary to report back on a number of questions that were raised at the October 27th meeting and to discuss alterations that have been made to the plan in response to some of the specific feedback we received (and wish to answer. Controversial questions regarding details of the project may not be answered.)  

A notice will be sent by email to those that are on our contact list, as well as by mail to a broad radius of homeowners in Marinwood and Lucas Valley. If you would like to be added to our contact list, please click here.

Thank you to those who joined us for the Community Meeting and Open House On Saturday, October 27th to solicit ideas and feedback on the proposed plans. Nearly 150 community members came together to discuss the plans for Marinwood Village, offer feedback on architecture and ask questions of BRIDGE Housing and Supervisor Adams.

The materials can be viewed on the website: www.marinwoodvillage.com. If you have other questions, please feel free to email us at marinwoodvillage@bridgehousing.com

We look forward to an earnest question and answer session with room for followup questions.  As this is only the second public meeting on the Bridge Housing proposal, many residents will be attending for the first time and will have questions.  Questions concerning parking, taxes, fees,  housing, setbacks, environmental concerns, funding, access have yet to be answered fully.
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Supervisor, Steven Kinsey, voiced the opinion that all supervisors are behind the plan "uneqivocally" but are uncertain that densities can be achieved to make the project affordable and still qualify for government grants. 

The fate of Marinwood Plaza is far from certain. At the TAM meeting, on November 29th, I pointed out that the loss of the Marinwood Plaza site to housing would be devastating on the community. Housing will take away the one thing our community needs to be "walkable, bikeable and sustainable", a successful, vibrant commercial center.

The Marinwood Market is currrently receiving rent subsidies and may not survive once it is surrounded by low income housing and parking is eliminated.  A much better option would be a "Farm to Table Market"  with Marinwood Market as the anchor tenant (for an example see www.oxbowmarket.com). It will serve the local community and provide a tourist gateway to West Marin cheese, organic farms and wineries. It is a natural fit with Sonoma and Napa wine country and benefits from its proximity to San Francisco. 

Oxbow Market, Napa, CA.
 
Marinwood/Lucas Valley can have a prosperous future!

2 comments:

  1. Really Stephen? Don't you undersand the economics yet? How many grocery stores can be supported by this population? Or do you just want to spread misinformation and ill will? What are your real objections?

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  2. Thank you for posting, whoever you are. I prefer to address criticism to real people. I have allowed anonymous postings simply to stimulate conversations but prefer that an actual person stands behind your words. What are you afraid of?

    To suggest that the plaza cannot be successful is a self fullfilling prophecy of negativism and neglect about the center. Sonoma and Napa wine country have 8 MILLION visitors each year to their wineries. Most of that traffic travels up the 101 corridor. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that with freeway visability, good parking, an updated design and a good marketing concept, that a successful market center can exist.

    Maybe it's me. I grew up in a community of 6000 with TWO successful grocery stores. The concept of www.oxbowmarket.com is part food store and part food tourism. You may have heard the growth tourism in West Marin with the cheese road and organic food producers. (Have you ever been in the Cowgirl Creamery in Pt Reyes on a weekend?) . In Western Massachussets, Farm stands were also quite popular. They featured fresh produce, baked goods and gifts. They were year round tourist attractions and also provided the local community with fresh goods.

    Will it work? Of course given some help from the county to get the permissions to build a structure (like a clock tower) that would help people locate it off the freeway.

    You are thinking that the small neighborhood of Marinwood can't support a market. I agree. The market needs access to a regional market.

    What are some of the reasons AGAINST using Marinwood Plaza for housing? First, let me say that I am opposed to all housing at this valuable site, market rate or affordable. But Affordable housing places huge financial burdens on the community. They have a 50 Tax FREE status. We have to pay all costs for the infrastructure improvements and all of the additional police, fire, teachers, school, firestations etc needed by our new neighbors. The plan is to grow our community by at least 25% with a low income population.

    Yes, I have many objections based on sound economics.

    What are your reasons for wanting government housing instead of a vibrant community center?





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