Friday, April 27, 2018

An Open Letter concerning the Marinwood Park Maintenance Shed Project

An Open Letter concerning the 

Marinwood Park  Maintenance Shed Project


Dear Marinwood Parks and Rec Commissioners, Staff and CSD Board Members.

I enjoyed Bill Hansells building presentation on 4/24/2018.  It is was very informative.

The building is very attractive but it is not efficient from a workflow design because it is long and narrow with an entrance on the side.  There is much wasted space but it is possible to have a practical design like the ones below that with a smaller footprint that have virtually no wasted space.  You have seen these before because virtually every maintenance facility and auto repair facility everywhere is a variation of this design.  It is a long building with an office on one end. Each bay allows individual access to vehicles and wall space to store materials.  Like a cabinetmakers tool chest, there is a place for all tools within easy reach. Bays can be emptied to make room for occasional projects. Because it is so efficient,  It requires only a width of 24' or roughly equivalent to a single parking space plus five feet.

Marinwood CSD "rolling stock" will consist of   (1) Ford F250 (2) Kawasaki Mule HUV vehicles (1) Tractor  (1) riding lawnmower and (1) trailer.     Bill Hansells design cannot possibly handle the vehicle traffic with its narrow entrance and angled approach.  It would require constant movement of vehicles and "passing lanes".  I believe  four bay design with office of an approximate dimension of 24' x 55' will be adequate for some time into the future.  For a size comparison, the office trailer has an estimated dimension of 12 ' x 60' Bill Hansell's design is roughly 150 to 200%  larger of the these designs with less usable space.

I'd locate the new building immediately adjacent to the existing office trailer which will be reserved for other uses.

The biggest waste of space in the maintenance facility is the brush piles, material storage and the required hard area for vehicles to move around.  I simply would prohibit storage of bulk materials.  Our guys are landscapers and we should only order materials we can use.  The concept of "corporation yard" with heavy earth moving equipment and material storage does not belong in Marinwood Park. Our land is too precious and fragile next to the creek.

Of the three designs below, I favor the shed roof design on the upper left.  It has clerestory windows for lots of natural light and the peak is the furthest from the fence line which will diminish the visual impact to the neighbors. It has a modernist feel reminiscent of Eichlers.  The total cost for the plan is $400.00  or tens of thousands less than a custom design.   Bill Hansells creativity should be used on higher profile projects in our community where it will be seen. He still can be a valuable consultant on this project.

These buildings will cost far less than a custom design and may even be purchased prefab garage company like TuffShed.   We can add generous planting at the fence that will shield it from view.  We will have a new maintenance shed built quickly to our needs at least of third of the cost. 

I'd prefer our maintenance facility be located next to the firehouse but my second choice is one of the designs below in the panhandle.    Please look at the stream conservation maps below and click on the links for helpful information on why siting is so important.

What do you think?






https://www.architecturaldesigns.com/house-plans/modern-garage-plan-with-3-bays-62636dj




Inline image 1 Inline image 2

Information on Marin County Stream Conservation Ordinance HERE

Link to MarinMap HERE


IMPORTANT:  The Stream Conservation Setback is a real constraint that limits our options.

This aerial map shows the stream conservation setback.  As you can see there is very little land to build on.  In addition the map does not show the drainage canal that is in between the tennis courts and the panhandle. This is considered part of the stream and almost the entire area is within the stream conservation ordinance setback save an area behind 575 Quietwood. I believe one the above building designs could be squeezed in there while Bill Hansells design would occupy roughly twice the space.
Link to Stream Conservation Map Overlay HERE

Bill Hansell's Design Presentation on 4/24/2018

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