Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Suddenly, the Marinwood CSD is now a "lead agency" that governs land use and the environment




Marinwood CSD will approve its own EIR.  What are the chances they will reject it due to non compliance?
The Marinwood CSD has given itself authority to approve its own "Negative Declaration for Environmental Review" for the Maintenance Shed.

It is quite funny, because in recent years, the Marinwood CSD has claimed that it has no authority over land use decisions (true) and cannot comment on land use policies that affects the Marinwood CSD or its residents (bold face, "untruth").

The Marinwood CSD, filled with political pawns of a former supervisor, helped engineer the identification of seven huge affordable housing complexes in Marinwood.  During the 2014 housing element  85% of all of the affordable housing for unincorporated Marin County were targeted for Marinwood-Lucas Valley.   If the projects go forward, it will swell our population by 50% while the properties will be tax free, further burdening us with their share of taxes.

Likewise when it was discovered that Marinwood Plaza had a toxic waste issue and residents in Casa Marinwood and neighboring properties were severely affected, the Marinwood CSD refused either to listen about the problem, officially or unofficially endorse clean up efforts because "the CSD doesn't comment on land use issues".


Marinwood CSD Board members have REFUSED to even comment on the deadly toxic waste problem at Prosperity Cleaners.
Even today, while the toxic waste issues are still present and threatening residents, neither the Marinwood CSD as a board or any individual member will support clean up efforts either officially or unofficially as a concerned neighbor. (Editor's Note 7/12/2018: Correction Bill Shea signed the Change.org petition. My apologies ) The duplicity continues with the Parks and Recreation commissioners who will not support toxic waste clean up.  Of course, if you want to plant native species, they are all ears. 

The environmental practices of the Marinwood CSD are atrocious.  They have regularly destroyed wildlife habitat EVEN WHEN EASY ALTERNATIVES exist.  Most of the environmental damage in the park is caused by reckless policies that ignore environmental laws and common sense.  For example, when Miller creek flooded, the parks department dropped chunks of concrete in the stream bed without appropriate engineer and environmental controls.  The CSD used/stored strong pesticides for years after their use were no longer accepted practice.  The parks department also bulldozed landscaping debris and trash into the storm drainage canals and were forced to clean it up by Marin County agencies. 
Marinwood Parks abuse the natural landscape with heavy equipment despite easy alternatives.

So it is quite laughable to have Marinwood CSD be in charge of its own environmental regulation for the maintenance shed.   It is like the fox guarding the hen house.   Nevertheless, unless challenged by the public or a higher authority, the Marinwood CSD will be allowed to declare itself "in compliance" with environmental regulation.   How many private individuals would like to be able to "self report compliance" ?

So it looks like Marinwood Park will have the "Taj Mahal" of parks maintenance sheds that no other community in Marin County will have.  They most certainly will be spending the most money, occupying the most space of any 3 person parks department in all of Marin,  perhaps all of Northern California.


Who can you thank for this debacle?  The Marinwood CSD directors including Leah Green, Bill Shea, Irv Schwartz, Jeff Naylor and Izabella Perry and Marinwood CSD manager Eric Dreikosen.  Former CSD director, Bill Hansell is the architect but who can blame him for maximizing his "opportunity"?


Ultimately, we are the ones who elect these people and allow this to happen.
After hundreds of thousands of dollars are wasted at the Marinwood CSD, guess who picks up the bill?




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