Fable: THE EAGLE AND THE BEETLE

A BEETLE once begged the Eagle to spare a Hare which had run to her for protection. But the Eagle pounced upon her prey, the sweep of her great wings tumbling the Beetle a dozen feet away. Furious at the disrespect shown her, the Beetle flew, to the Eagle's nest and rolled out the eggs. Not one did she spare. The Eagle's grief and anger knew no bounds, but who had done the cruel deed she did not know.

Next year the Eagle built her nest far up on a mountain crag; but the Beetle found it and again destroyed the eggs. In despair the Eagle now implored great Jupiter to let her place her eggs in his lap. There none would dare harm them. But the Beetle buzzed about Jupiter's head, and made him rise to drive her away; and the eggs rolled from his lap.

THE EAGLE AND THE BEETLE

Now the Beetle told the reason for her action, and Jupiter had to acknowledge the justice of her cause. And they say that ever after, while the Eagle's eggs lie in the nest in spring, the Beetle still sleeps in the ground. For so Jupiter commanded.

Even the weakest may find means to avenge a wrong.

Is Kate "No Ears" Sears listening to you?

Kate Sears is feeling pretty dreamy about the urban Marin she is helping to build while ignoring the Citizens demands for less traffic, sensible housing growth, realistic pensions and No glyphosate pesticides. Is she listening? Vote for Change June 7th

Is Kate Sears right for Marin?

Kate Sears "The Strawberry PDA doesn't change anything"

Kate Sears and even More Dirty Smears Part 3

Kate Sears doubles down on the smears

Kate Sears Responds – Doubles Down on Koch Brothers Conspiracy Allegations
Posted by: Bob Silvestri - April 5, 2016 - 11:32am

Late yesterday afternoon, The Marin Post received the following email from Marin County Supervisor Kate Sears, commenting on my recent blogs in the Marin Post (All the Supervisor's Men, The Devil Made Me Do It, and Elections Are Not Only About Issues).

Bob:

Your coverage of my poll is anything but fair. I assume that's because you did not hear the poll yourself. Contrary to your reporting, the poll did not change the questions depending on answers. It also did not talk about Susan Kirsch's campaign taking money from the Koch brothers.

The 21 minute poll asked, as part of a much broader question, whether it bothered voters if they knew: "Her organization, Citizen Marin, has worked with organizations affiliated with the Koch brothers".  Read the Story in the Marin Post HERE

Editor's Note: As a member of Citizen Marin,  I find this allegation of Koch Brothers money laughable.  It is almost a funny as some of the allegations coming from the wacky fringe of the  housing activists.  It really shows how desperate Kate Sears is to get re-elected.

Marin Voice: Repairing Marin City housing needs to be higher priority

By Susan Kirsch

POSTED: 01/23/16, 2:43 PM PST |

2 COMMENTS

We recently celebrated the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. In the 1960s, King inspired the nation to stand up to injustice. How is justice playing out in our own backyard?

Three recent events catch my attention — a lawsuit, a bonus, and a facelift.

A lawsuit: In 2014, after two years of Marin Housing Authority’s failure to respond to residents of Golden Gate Village, the U.S District Court ruled in the residents’ favor.

It took Bay Area Legal Aid’s lawsuit filed in 2012 on behalf of the Golden Gate Village Resident Council to re-establish the legitimacy of the council as the voice of the residents.

The housing authority board includes the five-member Board of Supervisors and two public housing residents. Its stated mission is to provide decent and safe housing for low-income people.

It oversees six affordable housing complexes with nearly 500 units of public housing. Golden Gate Village has two-thirds of the authority’s total population. It houses 700, mostly people of color, in 294 units.

It is Marin’s only public housing for families with children.

Prior to filing the lawsuit, Royce McLemore, a Golden Gate Village community leader, reached out to Supervisor Kate Sears 11 times in an attempt to find a solution. She got no response.

A bonus: The Board of Supervisors hired Lewis Jordan, former housing authority chief in Chicago, as director of Marin Housing Authority in 2012 with a salary of $169,500.

In December 2015, it gave him a $20,000 bonus, equivalent to an annual salary for a Marin City resident working full-time at minimum wage.

A bonus?

True, Jordan inherited a tough situation. Under his direction, authority staff submitted updated five-year agency plans for 2014-18 to HUD. The plan is practically identical to the one Jordan’s predecessor submitted for 2010-14.

Read the full article in the Marin IJ HERE

Marin City Residents talk about preserving Golden Gate Village June 22, 2015.

Kate Sears $150,000 Future Goggles. Will Sea Level Rise Fears get her Re-Elected?

Supervisor Kate Sears announces an education program OWL to "see the future" with sea level rise in Mill Valley.  This temporary installation will be installed along the bike path in Mill Valley and costs an estimated $150,000 for twelve weeks.  This is an eye popping $12,500 per week.  This is some expensive "education".

Kate Sears is up for election in November 2015

Kate "No Ears" Sears refused to hear concerns of Strawberry Residents about the PDA for sixteen board meetings in a row. She refused to allow it to be placed on the agenda for discussion.
Now she wants to be re-elected...

Politicians prey on fear and ignorance in the Old South and in Marin today.

In this scene from "Brother Where Art Thou?" the Southern politician tries to stir up fear and ignorance to get re-elected. Playing on our worst natures is the oldest trick in the politician's play book. 

In educated, liberal Marin County today, we can see how this is played by our local politicians against us.   Opponents to the urbanization of Marin, are termed racist NIMBYs while the politicians fight for developers and special interests.    Supervisors Kinsey, Rice and Sears are up for re-election in 2016.

Supervisors Kinsey and BOS unanimously support Marinwood Village without hearing from the people



The Marin Board of Supervisors unequivocally support Marinwood Village without consulting Marinwood.

See Steve Kinsey explain that 100% of the  Board of Supervisors support the Marinwood Village Site,  unequivocally    at the November 29, 2012 TAM meeting before ALL THE FACTS are IN.

The have all ready given Marinwood Village project $460,000 in HIPE funds and are seeking another $696,000 or roughly $1.02 million dollars to steal part of Marinwood Ave to make parking for affordable developer Bridge Housing' plans for 85 low income housing units.

Gee,  it's great to be an affordable housing developer,  isn't it?

Our entire Marinwood CSD budget is $4.2 million dollar and the Board of Supervisors is giving over a million dollars to aid Bridge Housing before a shovel hits the dirt on the housing development. 

Some people get rich. Some people get subsidized rents. We get taxed.

How dare they rip off the only asset that our community will have to build a vibrant commercial hub.  Once our neighbor's move their families into the "stack and pack" housing moves into their tiny apartments,  we will have to build more class rooms, hire more teachers, cops and firefighters.

The Marinwood Village development won't begin to pay it's fair share to the community .  In addition, we may also have to upgrade our fire station and water and sewer. Higher taxes for us. Free stuff for them.

How many of us moved into the neighborhood to have our community stolen from us by bureaucrats and politicians?

Even our new neighbors have to eat.  Do you think they will be picking up $7.32 cent  a gallon organic milk at the market? What will happen when the market's rent subsidy disappears?

If you are sick and tired of all this crony capitalism and silly land use,  I urge you to join us in fighting the Marinwood Plaza project. 

If  you are sick of secret planning sessions behind closed doors with hand picked "neighborhood leaders" I urge you to join us.

If you are sick of hearing the lie that "the community decided" on a mixed use project in 2006 and your vote doesn't count, I urge you to join us.  

The first and only "public" meeting on the Marinwood Village project was on October 27th, 2012.  Over 43% of us are new to the community since 2007. The 2006 project was a private development that actually would have contributed to our tax base.

The "leaders" must know that we will not follow the destuction of our community to fulfill their vain ambitions.  Let the crony developers know, that they will only be welcome if they come through the front door and reveal their intentions first.

We are not opposed to all affordable housing.  We are opposed to the taking of our rights to manage our own community. 



Pinky and the Brain, and politicians, planners, bureaucrats, developers and smart growth advocates

How planners view people.

How we view politicians, planners, bureaucrats, developers and smart growth advocates

Report on the Board of Supervisors Meeting August 18, 2014

Katie Rice, Marin County Supervisor



Kate Sears, Marin County Supervisor



Steve Kinsey, Marin County Supervisor



Judy Arnold, Marin County Supervisor



Brian Crawford, Marin County Community Development Director and Matthew Hymel, County Executive in foreground.

Brent Ainsworth, Marin County Communications Consultant, photographed dissidents in the audience.

Report from the August 18, 2014 Marin County Board of Supervisor's meeting

by Peter Hensel

At the sups meeting, before Marin Community Development Director Brian Crawford gave his presentation, at least two of the sups---Katie Rice and Judy Arnold---seemed to take some pleasure in rankling high density foes sitting in the back of the chambers.

"I see a lot of familiar faces and a familiar color--red," noted Rice. She said she was glad we were taking an interest in the proceedings and the issues but chided us to make our comments "fact-based". Her tone was outwardly pleasant but the import held a lecturing, schoolmarm-ish edge.

Judy Arnold went one better on Rice. She said, from the rostrum, that the sups have been receiving lots of email which echoed the message of Community Venture Partners. (CVP is a new grassroots activist group with some land use expertise and legal clout, boasting stellar environmental attorney Ed Yates as one of its members).

Arnold opined that Community Ventures Partners seems to be little more than "a recycled version of Citizen Marin". She then proceeded to read aloud---and into the record---a letter written by an unnamed citizen that urged the supervisors to go forward post haste with an uber ambitious housing element plan that would sanction building in Marin's unincorporated areas as much as four times the number of units mandated by the state, which is 185.

She euphemistically referred to that massive cushion as a " buffer"---which theoretically would facilitate prompt state certification of the Marin County Housing Element.

The other sups, Katie Sears and Steve Kinsey, sat listening impassively. They didn't volunteer any opinions diverging from those of Rice and Arnold. Kinsey especially seem to be preoccupied with a personal sheaf or papers on the rostrum countertop.

Steve Kinsey, typically does not look up from his papers to acknowledge the audience during meetings.

It was only after this intro, followed by Crawford's fifteen minute presentation lauding the merits of the HE plan, that the high density foes---some wearing red, some not---were invited to form a line and each given three minutes to speak from the floor.

The facial expressions of the sups changed at that point, from confident to mildly ill at ease. Could it be that real listening is not their strong suit?

Activist Stephen Nestel of Save Marinwood went first.

"Mr. Kinsey, this (visioned) high density building (along and near the 101 corridor) would not be in your backyard, would it?" Kinsey, who lives in West Marin, did not reply.

Ms. Rice," Nestel continued, "this high density building would not be in your backyard, now, would it?.."
Silence from the rostrum.

And so on down the line.

Supervisor Susan Adams was spared Nestel's scrutiny because she was absent on 20th. Adams, of course, was voted out of office last spring. In the same election, incumbent Judy Arnold only very narrowly survived a challenge from upstart Toni Shroyer.

But that didn't stop Arnold from throwing out her public dig at Pat Ravasio and Corte Madera Council as the public hearing portion of the meeting ended and the activists headed for the door.

One might ask, if Arnold disses Corte Madera Council (and she does) why does she now support upzoning in unincorporated Marin that would potentially allow building four times the number of units now rising on the ill-fated WinCup property?

The Great PDA Debate - Part I

Posted by Bob Silvestri , March 11, 2014 at 03:22 PM

On February 25th the Marin County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing about whether or not to remove the Priority Development Area (PDA) in the Strawberry neighborhood. A PDA is a land use designation that a city or county can assign to indicate a desire for high density growth in that location.

The hearing was led by Kate Sears, the Supervisor for the Strawberry district, who lectured the public in chatty, schoolmarm tones through an ever-present grin that seemed oblivious to the community’s need for her to at least emotionally acknowledge the seriousness of the issue before them.

As the Grateful Dead song Truckin goes," You've got two good eyes but you still don't see.."  Supervisor Kate Sears refused to put the Strawberry PDA on the Board of Supervisor's agenda for 14 consecutive meetings despite hundreds citizen requests. She is seen here at the Feb 25, 2014 meeting. She expressed disappointment that it could not have been made smaller and blamed the public for misinformation.

For months Ms. Sears had tried to dismiss, deflect and derail the need for such a hearing. At first she tried to divide and conquer by refusing to attend any large community meetings: she would only meet with small groups to diffuse dissent. But her attempts didn’t work. She had ignored requests to put the topic on the agenda of the weekly BOS meetings for 14 consecutive weeks, but the public wouldn’t let up. She had even tried to shift the decision’s responsibility to entirely different agency, the Transportation Authority of Marin, but to no avail. Her curious obstructionist tactics only fanned the flames. By now her constituents were fully informed and actively engaged in making their opinions known.

And so it began.

After a variety of somewhat long winded, defensive and off topic remarks by most of the Supervisors it was time for a presentation by Community Development Director, Brian Crawford.

Mr. Crawford’s staff report was ostensibly about the history, locations and ramifications of PDAs in Marin, but it ended up being a good deal of confusing disinformation and “planner- speak” gibberish (see video here: Item 16). But as innocuous as his report may have seemed, it was in some ways one of the more important things that occurred at the meeting because it touched on, or perhaps more appropriately failed to touch on, larger issues we are facing about PDAs.

No Wonder Everyone Is So Confused

The urbane, highly paid Brian Crawford, explains to the Board of Supervisors and the hundreds of Citizens about the Highway 101 PDA Corridor that was "volunteered" by the Community.  Despite the intense protest of residents, Smart Growth and Plan Bay Area boosters claim that we must urbanize Marin.

Mr. Crawford showed the Board a map of the County’s Priority Development Areas. On it, it showed that the entire north-south corridor within a half mile of highway 101 was designated as the “Highway 101 PDA Corridor” (indicated by hash marks).  Mr. Crawford went on to explain that the County had “volunteered” this entire swath of land as a PDA back in 2006 and 2007, during the Pre-Plan Bay Area “Focus” sessions led by ABAG. He then noted that in 2010 to 2011 the BOS had voted to confirm this PDA designation for the 101 corridor and to include what the map called “Transit Neighborhoods,” which included the Strawberry PDA.

Oddly, his presentation and charts made it sound as if (1) the county had the authority to dictate land use for property that was located within other cities in Marin, and (2) that everything within a half like of highway 101 was a PDA, as defined by Plan Bay Area.
This, of course, is completely wrong.

The areas noted as Transit Neighborhoods were in fact the only actual PDAs.  But the map was still incorrect because the outlines of the areas noted as Transit Neighborhoods did not correspond accurately to the areas of the actual PDAs noted in the County’s Housing Element. In places like Marin City, for example, this is significant because his map showed County Housing Authority-owned projects, like Golden Gate Village, as being in a PDA, which it is not.

Why the map was presented at all remains a mystery.

However, predictably, not a single Supervisor raised an eyebrow or seemed to care enough to question his misstatements even though they should have all known that the County’s Housing Element only recognized a few remaining areas as actual PDAs: Strawberry, Marin City and California Park (Marinwood and the Tam/Almonte area having already been removed).

But okay, so the map was wrong. What’s the big deal?

Some Backstory

The ABAG Focus sessions that Brian Crawford referred to happened prior to the passage of Senate Bill 375 in September of 2008. SB375 was the legislation that made the terms “Priority Development Area” (PDA) and “Transit Priority Project Area” (TPA) meaningful legal terms and connected them to federal and state transportation funding. That funding was the primary argument the BOS had been making as to why the Strawberry PDA should remain.

Following the passage of SB375, our metropolitan planning organization (ABAG and MTC) had to craft a “Sustainable Communities Strategy,” which became a known as Plan Bay Area. Plan Bay Area was not adopted until June of 2013. 

Whatever the County might have done prior to the adoption of Plan Bay Area was not officially connected to federal and state transportation funding that Plan Bay Area brought with it targeted for PDAs.  

It’s important to also know that it was SB375 that clearly defined the state’s intention of promoting and incentivizing zoning changes for high density transit oriented development (TOD). SB375 and Plan Bay Area make it emphatically clear (in fact it’s pretty much their sole purpose) that 80 percent of the TOD that occurs is targeted for

Citizens Speak up and Strawberry Gets out of the PDA

Susan Adams surveys the crowd at the start of the meeting. 

Judy Arnold waits for the citizen's testimony to end.

  

Kate Sears, acting President of the Board speaks to the public

Steve Kinsey looked down on his desk and barely acknowledged the public for the entire 4 hour meeting.

Katie Rice listens and reads documents.

See the citizens testimony against the Strawberry PDA HERE

Marin Voice: Time to save Strawberry from high-density development

By Charles Ballinger
Guest op-ed column

Posted:   01/05/2014 06:00:00 PM PST

Stop the Strawberry Priority Development Area

NUMEROUS "rebels with a cause" have spoken up against Priority Development Areas in Marinwood, San Rafael's Civic Center area , and Tam Valley —and have won.

That's not the case in Strawberry where, after months of requests, supervisors have yet to even place the issue on their agenda.

We've read opponents "haven't shown they are speaking for a majority of their neighbors." While not a hearing requisite, the numbers suggest otherwise.

To date, more than 700 have signed petitions to remove Strawberry as a PDA. Those favoring inclusion have been oddly silent. In fact, nobody appears to be speaking up for a Strawberry PDA — except our non-resident supervisor, Kate Sears.

Of former Strawberry Recreation District directors and Strawberry Design Review Board members located, every past member has signed a letter opposing PDA inclusion — without exception.
These community representatives have served Strawberry for a combined 162 years and understand what's at stake.

They understand how dense mega-housing blocks like Novato's Millworks and Corte Madera's Tamal Vista would negatively impact Strawberry. They understand our serious traffic and parking issues, our crowded schools and overburdened facilities. They understand how the combination of a PDA designation and state-mandated housing quotas will eventually usher in high density development.
They understand visual blight and don't want it in Strawberry.
It's been said that PDAs won't change zoning, but that isn't the issue. Mixed-use zoning already exists throughout Strawberry and awaits "encouraged" development. That encouragement comes in the form of streamlined approvals, tax breaks, waivers, and other incentives.

Once state funding is leveraged to this end, the floodgates will open for higher-density projects.
To suggest local design committees have the final say is incorrect. Development entitlements are rarely challenged in design review.
Indeed, the only benefit offered our community is the promise of transportation dollars that may — or may not benefit the area.
Once consultants are paid, most believe the amount would be minimal. With increased usage brought on by denser development, it's hard to imagine any traffic improvement.

Fifty years ago, a group of Marin activists challenged pro-development supervisors and won. Thanks to them, we now enjoy the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Point Reyes National Seashore — free of the high-rise housing developments that would have littered these landscapes. Their efforts were chronicled in the inspiring film "Rebels With A Cause."

Today, Marin faces another assault by high-density housing advocates. This time, it's by state-mandated housing quotas that will bring more urban-style housing blocks to Marin. Groups like the Association of Bay Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission use funding allotments to promote this density in Marin's transportation corridor.
The latest folly would urbanize Larkspur Landing, further clogging one of the worst freeway connectors (Highway 101 to Highway 580) in all of California.

In Strawberry, the prime target is the Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary property, which doesn't even meet the PDA's own standard of proximity to transit.

As a member of the county Regulatory Improvements Advisory Committee (a.k.a. "Red Tape Committee"), I can say one of our primary recommendations will be to provide a more cooperative, "team" approach for planning projects. That means listening and working together.

To date, the Board of Supervisors hasn't taken this approach with Strawberry. Residents question Supervisor Sears' unyielding attitude in particular.

To learn more, come to the Strawberry Community Association's public meeting Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Strawberry Recreation Center, or visit www.Savestrawberry.org to access the petition.
Marin's historic tradition of preserving its character is being challenged once again. The concepts of PDAs and mandated housing quotas might seem obscure, but their unbridled implementation will be anything but.

Charles Ballinger of Strawberry is a former chairman of the Strawberry Design Review Board. He also served on the county Regulatory Improvements Advisory Committee.

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Strawberry Citizens for Sustainable Planning Meeting September 15, 2013

Strawberry PDA Meeting with Kate Sears August 19, 2013

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Please Sign the Petition to Stop the Strawberry PDA

NEWSFLASH: Group co-founded by Larkspur lawyer files suit to block Plan Bay Area

see the story as it unfolds: HERE

Recall Adams Campaign Off to a Great Start!

The first weekend of the Recall Petition of Susan Adams exceeded expectations.  A surprising number of people came out for the first weekend of the recall.  Even though many are concerned with the false information that an election may cost $250,000, most realize that our only way to save our community is to get a responsive leader as soon as possible.   We know that placing FIVE to TEN times the amount of affordable housing per capita than ANY OTHER CITY in Marin is plain wrong.

We are tired of the false information,  avoidance of public Town Hall meeting and the division of our community. There are winds of change in the air.

A hard rain is gonna fall.

www.MarinRecall.com

Susan Adam's declares "Soda Free Summer" and saves Dixie School Children

See Nels Johnson's story in the Marin IJ

 

 

Thank goodness, we have Susan Adam's and the Board of Supervisors protecting us from Soda Pop.   I wish they were so passionate about saving the Dixie School District and Marinwood-Lucas Valley from exploitation.

 

"No soda for you!"

 

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