Miller Creek after a Rainstorm

Miller Creek, one of Marin County's pristine watersheds is under threat of a 4400 square foot development in Marinwood Park. The proposed Maintenance Facility is excessive for the tiny park.  It is three times the size of the maintenance facility McInnis Park despite the fact that McInnis is employs double the staff and is 450 acres.  Marinwood Park is a mere 14 acres of which only about 7 acres is improved property and the excess. The rest is open space.  The Maintenance facility is gobbling up the open space and prime recreation area to fullfill the ambitions of the architect and former CSD board member Bill Hansell.  Despite the violation of the 2007 Marin County general plan that prohibits development within 100' of the stream bank, the Marinwood CSD is seeking approval of its design.  Neighbors are upset and the Marinwood CSD has kept its plans and budget secret.  They have violated numerous government contracting rules, political practices, transparency laws, in addition to numerous environmental laws.  This is quite unfortunate because there is unanimous agreement to approve a smaller structure outside the prohibited zone.  A 1200 sf structure identical to McInnis Park Maintenance Facility will be easily approved by a grateful public.

The Three Fishes

Once, three fishes lived in a pond. One evening, some fishermen passed by the pond and saw the fishes. 'This pond is full of fish', they told each other excitedly. 'We have never fished here before. We must come back tomorrow morning with our nets and catch these fish!' So saying, the fishermen left.

When the eldest of the three fishes heard this, he was troubled. He called the other fishes together and said, 'Did you hear what the fishermen said? We must leave this pond at once. The fishermen will return tomorrow and kill us all!'
The second of the three fishes agreed. 'You are right', he said. 'We must leave the pond.'



But the youngest fish laughed. 'You are worrying without reason', he said. 'We have lived in this pond all our lives, and no fisherman has ever come here. Why should these men return? I am not going anywhere - my luck will keep me safe.'

The eldest of the fishes left the pond that very evening with his entire family. The second fish saw the fishermen coming in the distance early next morning and left the pond at once with all his family. The third fish refused to leave even then.

The fishermen arrived and caught all the fish left in the pond. The third fish's luck did not help him - he too was caught and killed.

The fish who saw trouble ahead and acted before it arrived as well as the fish who acted as soon as it came both survived. But the fish who relied only on luck and did nothing at all died. So also in life.

Marin County Planner explains McInnis Levee Project 1/9/2019

Marin County Open Space planner explains the proposed McInnis Wetlands restoration and levee and its affect on Silveira Ranch and Santa Venetia.  13 minutes of a longer presentation.

Miller Creek Watershed

Miller Creek Watershed

History and Habitat

Human Settlement

The Miller Creek Watershed is the northernmost part of the north San Rafael land grant (San Pedro, Santa Margarita y Las Gallinas). The land was originally granted to Timothy Murphy who incurred the gratitude of Governor Alvarado in 1837 by helping him defend against a coup attempt.

James Miller later bought 680 acres of the Las Gallinas portion of the rancho and operated it as a beef ranch and then as a dairy farm. Miller assisted the Sisters of Charity running the St. Vincent School, established 1855 as a girls’ seminary. The school eventually closed due to a lack of students and later became a school for orphaned boys.

The valley portions of the watershed were developed for urban housing beginning in 1955. The most recent development, Miller Creek Estates, was constructed in the 1980s and early 90s.

Changes to Watershed Processes

Miller Creek is an atypical east Marin creek in that it has a relatively intact riparian area with very high widths and depths relative to its drainage area. In many locations throughout Miller Creek the banks are 20 to 25 feet high and its width is often over 100 feet (Philip Williams and Associates, Ltd. 19811).

The creek has gone through two recent cycles of incision, or arroyo formation since the arrival of Europeans. Mid 19th century riparian vegetation clearing and grazing practices initiated the first cycle of channel downcutting. A second cycle started after the 1940s as evidenced by the disparate channel bed elevations upstream and downstream of the Grady Bridge and concrete apron installed in 1941; the channel downstream is 10 feet lower than the bed immediately upstream. Increased runoff and changes to drainage patterns from valley housing developments may have contributed to this rapid lowering of the channel bed. This incision occurred at a rate of approximately 1 foot per 10 years (PWA 1981). Recent channel assessments indicate that the rate of mainstem incision has slowed or stopped due to either the channel reaching a stable bed condition, increased sediment supply from tributary incision, or the installation of grade stabilization structures (Yin and Pope-Daum 2004 2).

With channel incision comes bank instability and widening. Vertical banks are undercut by moderate flows, with bank slumping and retreat occurring until there is sufficient width to accommodate flood flows and develop inset floodplains and terraces.

In the lower reaches of the valley the channel is wide with well developed and vegetated inset floodplains and an inner terrace. Bank instability at the outside bends of the channel meanders occurs throughout the valley as the channel continues to widen.

The Miller Creek Estates and Upper Miller Creek channel reaches were graded into a trapezoidal channel during housing development construction in the 1970s and 1980s. These reaches have a 100 foot setback along the channels. A post- project evaluation of this stretch of Miller Creek by Yin and Pope-Daum (2004) indicates that riparian vegetation has established in these reaches and the creek has developed a low-flow channel and discontinuous floodplains. Bank erosion is concentrated at the outside of meander bends. The channel complexity and habitat features are not as well developed as in the non-graded reaches downstream; however, the Miller Creek Estate reach has better habitat conditions than have been observed in the upstream reaches that are characterized by vertical banks, a wide homogenous channel bottom, and little mature riparian vegetation.

Tributary channels have undergone extensive downcutting and gully formation in response to the main channel incision. Headcut retreat is occurring in many steep, first order channels. Large volumes of sediment are delivered to the mainstem from tributary erosion and fine sediment aggradation reduces pool depths and degrades spawning gravels. The sediment produced by the upper watershed is deposited in the lower reaches of the system.

Downstream of the NWPRR Bridge the channel was rerouted and channelized in the 1920s. The creek was routed to the south, extended, and placed into a narrow, leveed channel with two 90 degree bends before reaching San Pablo Bay. A stretch of tidal wetlands are present along the bay front. There is local interest in realigning the creek east of the NWPRR Bridge to provide a more natural, direct connection to San Pablo Bay (Marin Conservation League 1997 3; St. Vincent’s/Silveira Advisory Task Force 2000 4).

Bank erosion in mainstem Miller Creek is widespread, as the channel is deeply incised in many places and in a widening phase. This erosion typically occurs on the outside of meander bends and is characterized by vertical banks with little to no riparian vegetation (H.T. Harvey and Associates 1992 5, PCI 2004 6). Often this bank erosion jeopardizes private property and structures.

Historic grazing practices and recent mainstem channel incision has caused destabilization of tributary channels. In the uplands, first and second order channels are undergoing headcutting and gully development, delivering fine sediment to Miller Creek during storm events. Visual assessments of instream sediment deposits indicate that there may be a higher than normal amount of fine sediment in the system, which leads to degraded instream habitat for fish and other species.
Habitat Types

The Miller Creek watershed is a mosaic of open ridge lands and grazing lands in the upper watershed, residential and limited commercial development along the narrow valley floor, and lower baylands. It is a relatively urbanized watershed but still supports a small population of steelhead, an important resource for the regional fishery. Some stretches of the creek still support somewhat healthy riparian plant communities. The lower marsh habitats represent some of the largest remaining tidally-influenced habitats in the bay region and support abundant waterfowl populations (Goals Project 1999 7)The Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District reclamation ponds adjacent to the marshes are one of the premier birding spots in Marin County. The Marin Countywide Plan (OS2.4) identifies Miller Creek as an important area for habitat connectivity providing continuous natural area through Miller Creek and Marinwood to the Bay.

The watershed is composed primarily of annual grasslands interspersed with oak-bay woodland and oak savanna in the upper watershed with patches of chaparral. The upper watershed is largely Marin County Open Space ridge lands and grazing lands. Historically, the upper watershed was heavily grazed and the riparian habitat is somewhat degraded. The most well-developed riparian plant communities occur west of Highway 101 near Miller Creek Middle School upstream towards Mt. Shasta Drive. Urban areas dominate the middle reaches of the watershed and the bulk of the population is concentrated along the narrow valley floor.

The lower reaches of the watershed east of Highway 101 support saltwater marsh and brackish-water marsh, both subject to tidal action. Freshwater seasonal wetlands occur in areas that were once historical baylands. These areas were diked off to provide agricultural land and now support oat hay production. The reclamation ponds created by Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District adjacent to tidal marshes in the lower watershed provide critical habitat for a number of bird species. This area boasts over 200 bird species and includes such sightings as golden eagle, ferruginous hawk, and rails. River otters are also known to frequent the area.

The St. Vincent’s School for Boys and Silveira Ranch are treasured parts of the Marin County landscape and provide critical habitat within the lower Miller Creek watershed. The site supports “oak woodlands, valley oak savanna, tidal and seasonal wetlands, historic diked tidelands, seeps and swales, the Miller Creek riparian corridor, and grassland” habitats (St. Vincent’s/Silveira Advisory Task Force 2000). Pacheco Ridge at the upper elevations of site supports intact native oak woodlands, an important habitat resource and community separator. The central location of the site provides habitat connectivity between “the Gallinas Creek watershed to the south, San Pablo Bay to the east, and Hamilton tidal marshes to the north” (St. Vincent’s/Silveira Advisory Task Force 2000).

Fish and Wildlife

The watershed supports a number of special-status plants and animals. Of particular interest are the occurrences of wetland-adapted species along the lower baylands. Noteworthy species include San Pablo song sparrow, California black rail, saltmarsh harvest mouse, and California clapper rail.

The Miller Creek watershed is also known to support 7 extant fish species (6 native and 1 introduced) and one extinct native species (Leidy 2007 8). Native species include California roach, steelhead, threepine stickleback, staghorn sculpin, prickly sculpin, and riffle sculpin. Common carp have also been introduced. Historically, the watershed supported native Sacramento sucker.

Steelhead have been observed within the Miller Creek watershed as recently as 2006.

There are no reported occurrences of federally-listed as threatened and California Species of Special Concern California red-legged frog within the watershed (CDFG 2008 9).

Heron and egret nesting colonies have been monitored by Audubon Canyon Ranch since the early 1990s (Kelly, et al., 2006). There are active nest colonies on shrub-covered islands at Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District plant at the east end of Smith Ranch Road. Black-crowned night-heron, snowy egret, and great egret have been observed nesting on the islands. Nests are in low-growing (1 meter) shrubs (Condenso, personal communication, May 15, 2008; Kelly, et al., 2006 10).

In addition, the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District reclamation ponds support over 200 bird species.

Human Habitation and Land Use

Current land use

In 1960, Marinwood, Miller Creek, and associated communities organized a community services district responsible for fire protection, parks and recreation, street lighting and open space. The Marinwood Community Services District now owns 812 acres of open space in the watershed including part of the ridge between the Miller Creek watershed and Novato. The developed area of the watershed fills the valley, with large portions of the ridges in Marin County Open Space District ownership and the balance held in private ranches. 13% of the watershed is incorporated areas.

The Marin County Open Space District, City of San Rafael, and Marinwood Community Services District also own substantive portions of the Miller Creek riparian area.

Marin County has identified the Marinwood Shopping Center as a potential site for community-based planning creating workforce housing within the City-Center corridor in mixed-use development. The Countywide Plan calls for 50-100 units in this area, as per the Marinwood Plaza Conceptual Master Plan.

1 Land & Water Management for Upper Miller Creek and Environs

2 Post project evaluation, Miller Creek, California: assessment of stream bed morphology, and recommendations for future study

3 Miller Creek Restoration Feasability Study Calfed Proposal 1997 category III

4 St. Vincent's/Silveira Advisory Task Force Recommendations

5 Channel Stabilization and Restoration Design for Two Sites on Miller Creek Marinwood CSD Reach, San Rafael, CA

6 Summary of channel assessment and design for Miller Creek Lassen-Shasta Reach (aka Darwin Reach)

7 Baylands Ecosystem Habitat Goals: A Report of Habitat Recommendations

8 Robert A. Leidy, Ecology, Assemblage Structure, Distribution & Status of Fishes in Streams Tributary to the San Francisco Estuary

9 California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG). 2008. California Natural Diversity Database. California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA.

10 Annotated Atlas and Implications for the Conservation of Heron and Egret Nesting Colonies in the San Francisco Bay Area




Fish



Vegetation



Land Use



Imperviousness



Large detailed versions of
these maps are available
in the Resources section.

Marin County Planning Commission receives staff report about he Stream Conservation Ordinance on May 13, 2013.  It was adopted shortly thereafter by the Board of Supervisors

Miller Creek Salmon or Steelhead Trout?

Video of what I believe to be steelhead trout spawn in Miller Creek near the Miwok Indian Burial Mound on Miller Creek Middle School..

Filmed July 19, 2017

Marin Voice: Dixie Outdoor Classroom fosters Miller Creek stewardship

Marin Voice: Dixie Outdoor Classroom fosters Miller Creek stewardship

By Ray Lorber


For eight years Debra DiBenedetto’s students have marveled over the “cycle of life” in her Dixie Outdoor Classroom.

In the fall they replace the non-native brush with native shrubbery. In the winter they build willow walls to minimize the erosion along the banks of Miller Creek. In the spring they nurture their blossoming natives.

Over the years, the Dixie Outdoor Classroom, with the labors of the hard-working Dixie Elementary School students, has evolved from a briar patch of non-native, Himalayan blackberry bushes to a nature preserve featuring numerous native, drought-resistant plants.

The Dixie Outdoor Classroom, situated on the banks of Miller Creek, provides the Dixie Elementary School students an opportunity to study the change in seasons in a natural setting. Second-grade teacher Debra DiBenedetto brings an awareness of the environment to her students. She shows her students what nature teaches us about our environment. She shows them how important it is to restore and protect our natives, how they support our environment and how their loss impacts our lives. Their study and environmental practices has effectively returned the Dixie Outdoor Classroom site to its natural state.

Her work has shown her students that by restoring the land with native plants, insects thrive, birds return and animals migrate back to their native surroundings. Recently an otter was spotted and an egret was seen on the banks of Miller Creek at the Dixie Outdoor Classroom. Families of quail are common sights. Numerous steelhead are easily seen in the creek. And, of course, the sly fox has been seen prowling the area.

Over the years, DiBenedetto’s students, after graduating to higher education levels, have returned to participate in maintaining the Dixie Outdoor Classroom. Some of them return while attending Miller Creek Middle School. And more recently some of her former students who now attend Terra Linda High School have returned to help. Her students have become life-long stewards of the environment.

With the support of the Miller Creek Watershed Stewards, DiBenedetto has received funds from multiple grants enabling her to provide a better environment for her students. They no longer need to sit on the ground while listening to her provide instructions for the day’s activities. They can now sit on benches. And they have a Tuffshed to store the tools needed to do the work required for creek restoration, removal of non-native plants and soil preparation for native plants.

Funds to provide the native plants, tools, equipment and facilities have been provided by grants from Marin County’s Fish and Wildlife Commission. Funds have also been provided by the Marinwood Lions Club’s Kelly’s Wishes Grant and the county of Marin’s Community Services Fund. The kids love to climb into their large knee-high bright yellow boots and wade into Miller Creek while working on the creek’s restoration.

The Miller Creek Watershed Stewards and the local community have provided the more taxing manual labor to clear the invasive blackberry, remove the dead trees and cut back the congestive ivy. Numerous photos portraying the Dixie Outdoor Classroom activity can be viewed on the website at millercreekwatershedstewards.org.

This spring some non-native plants have returned and the restoration cycle is being repeated. The students will be replacing the non-natives with native Marin plants.

They have planted a large variety of natives which include California wild rose, thimbleberry, blue blossom ceanothus, coffeeberry, snowberry and coast live oak to mention a few.


DiBenedetto’s Dixie Outdoor Classroom offers her students a hands-on, healthy, fun, outdoor experience to learn the fundamental benefits inherent in returning our environment to its native state.

Ray Lorber, of San Rafael, is chairman of Miller Creek Watershed Stewards, an 11-year-old organization that works to protect Miller Creek.

VIDEO : "Won't the massive developments affect Miller Creek Water Shed too?"

At the May 13, 2013 Marin County Planning Commission meeting,  Lucas Valley Resident, Pamela McKnight comments the effect of development on the Miller Creek Watershed.  Specifically, she mentions the email sent by Kate Crecelius about the possible sale of the Idylberry School for housing and the effect it will have on run off.  In the staff report found at Planning meeting video, agenda and staff report,   you can view Commissionor Crecelius remarks.

We thank Pamela McKnight and other residents for speaking up for our community and demanding commonsense planning that respects the character of the community and its long standing community plan.


Miller Creek is a pristine watershed.

NEW and IMPROVED Microwave Towers blast Marinwood Village Residents!

October 1, 2014- Sprint has just recently applied to place MORE MICROWAVE transmission facilities next to the Marinwood Village property at 190 Marinwood Avenue.  This tower will be literally yards away from living units housing pregnant women and small children.  Where is the outrage from Susan Adams, Nursing PHD or the housing activists?  Do they actually care for the health of the future residents  of Marinwood Village!?   see THIS

Families living in proposed Marinwood Plaza will have two high powered microwave antennas literally yards away from their home.  Would you want to live here?



High powered Microwave transmissions are a known health risk.

The FCC has strict safety warnings for workers and people close to microwave transmission towers.

 Two microwave towers on the property, the one on the right is disguised as a redwood tree

 

 

There are actually TWO HIGH POWERED MICROWAVE transmission towers on the South end of the Marinwood Plaza property that will be literally yards away from bedrooms of small children and pregnant woman.  Any cell phone user is aware of microwave interference with radio waves. We are asked to turn off our cellphones on airplanes and in hospitals.  People with pacemakers are asked to avoid being too close microwave ovens.

If you wouldn't move your family next to these towers, why would you allow Bridge Housing to develop here?

For more information on potentional health risks from microwave radiation: Cell Tower Dangers

If we truly care about our new neighbors, why would we ask them to live so close to the dangers of the pollution near the freeway and microwave towers?

Clearly, some people have different agendas than "helping" the working poor.

If the doublespeak,  the distortions,  the hidden agendas,  and  secret meetings concerning the Marinwood Village development proposal upset you,  please join us to Save Mariwood. Come to our meetings on Mondays .

We can have a better future for our community.

Life is Good in Marinwood/Lucas Valley

 

Ten Reasons why the Marinwood Village plan should be rejected

"Nah! Nah!  I'm not listening!"

 "The enemies of reason have a certain blind look."-from the film the Duelists

1.) The Dixie schools are at capacity and the affordable housing project pays almost no taxes to pay for the 60-150 school children at $10,000 per child per year from K to 12.  We receive little state funding and cannot afford the increase. We Dixie school district taxpayers will be forced to pay for an additional $600,000 to $1,500,000 annually.

2.) Bridge housing will not contribute  a fair share of costs of the impacts to Dixie Schools. They will be required to pay only $200,000 for new building, yet schools will need 3-6 portable classrooms which will cost anywhere from $300,000 to $900,000. The new portables will steal space from parking and play areas.

3.)  Marinwood Ave will have to be narrowed at taxpayer expense of $1,000,000 plus.  The narrow road will render the Dixie school bus yard impractical and may need to be moved at additional taxpayer expense. Residents will undoubtedly need to park in the neighborhoods and surrounding streets.

4.) Marinwood Market will have difficulty surviving with crowded parking especially on weekend shopping days when residents will be home.  The market receives a generous subsidy now but is under no long term obligation to stay.  The market must be profitable to survive or the community will lose the it's ONLY grocery store.

5.) More police, fire and government services will be required.  Hamilton has seen a substantial increase in crime with similar high density housing which is 100% affordable.  Lower density housing with  a maximum 20% affordable housing tends to promote social stability. Large affordable housing projects were abandoned in the 1960s as failures because they tended to become islands of poverty with negative social results.  Why should we repeat a failed affordable housing scheme? For a comparison of crime rates in Marin see www.crimereports.com . 

6.) The location next to a busy freeway and two high powered microwave antennas is unhealthful and unsuitable for families with pregnant woman and young children. Major university studies on the effects of pollution and microwave transmission indicate higher rates of autism, cancer and other disease. If we truly care for people in need, we should care where we house them.  More suitable locations away from the freeway should be chosen.

7.) Marinwood / Lucas Valley will permanently lose the only viable location for a successful retail center to supply the community with fresh food.  It abuts the 101 freeway where 8 million tourists and commuters travel yearly to Sonoma and Napa counties.  West Marin tourism is largely undeveloped yet shows great promise.  Thousands of bicycle trips start in Marinwood each year. The "cheese road" has become a popular destination for weekend travelers.  Marinwood Plaza could become the family friendly"gateway to West Marin" with organic foods, cycling shop, restaurants and farmers market much like www.oxbowmarket.com . The county could invest the tax revenue to support affordable housing.

8.)  Our taxes will surely increase across the board.  Taxpayers will subsidize the Marinwood Village affordable housing project  during its 55 year tax free existence.  Millions of dollars will needed from their middle class neighbors who are currently reeling from a declining real estate market,  increases in Federal, State and local taxes.  We cannot afford this "affordable housing scheme"

9.) The Marinwood Village scheme has not received meaningful input from the community. Political insiders or so-called "neighborhood leaders" met secretly behind closed doors to discuss the proposal for the fake "public process" .  The wider community is largely unaware of the projects existence or the effects on the community. Fewer still are aware that Marinwood Village is only the first of five projects plus the rezoning of the community into an urban style "Transit Village".

10) A successful affordable housing project can win public support if and only when meaningful public dialogue, wise land use, environmental, financial and social concerns are met. If the supervisors approve this project without community support, it can expect a strong political backlash and full rejection of the housing scheme in its entirety.

"If you are not angry

then you are not paying attention"

 Marinwood Village is the first of five housing projects that will grow our community 25%.  One in five  Marinwood/Lucas Valley residents will be living in government supported projects if the projects are built as planned.  Additional rezoning for high density housing for private development will transform Marinwood/Lusas Valley into a Transit Oriented Village into "Daly City North".

Is this the future you want?

Save Marinwood/Lucas Valley!

Does Supervisor Susan Adams still care about the people of Marinwood?

From Susan Adams Blog: St Vincents and Silvera Ranch

I find it ironic that Supervisor Susan Adams, once a champion of managed growth for Marinwood/Lucas Valley is now at the forefront of the ABAG plan to urbanize Marin and especially the Marinwood Priority Development Area. The supervisors voted and approved special provisions for high density/affordable housing developers that weaken environmental protections for us all ("streamlining" CEQA). It is my greatest hope that she will reconsider housing development at Marinwood Plaza and encourage commercial development like the Farm to Table Market (see www.oxbowmarket.com for an example) that will serve the whole community. Once we have a true walk/bike friendly community again, we can consider additional housing in the valley. Please help us save the community for ALL of us . If we lose the Marinwood Plaza site to housing and offices, we will have lost the only viable commerical site next to the 101 corridor.  Let Susan Adams, Steve Kinsey and the rest of the Supervisors know that you want to keep our community whole. St. Vincent’s and Silveira Ranch When viewed from Highway 101, the bucolic St. Vincent’s and Silveira ranchlands remind people of the way California once looked. The open vistas of a working dairy, grazing cows and a pastoral landscape extending to San Pablo Bay was once a common sight in the North Bay. One by one, over the years, these vistas have been replaced with housing and commercial development. The approximately 1,110 acre St. Vincent’s/Silveira properties serve as an important community separator between northern San Rafael and Novato. The 1994 Marin Countywide plan presumed that the City of San Rafael would annex these two properties and they would be developed as a new neighborhood within the City. Some San Rafael elected officials backed an aggressive plan for large scale development of the area with up to 1,800 housing units and several hundred thousand square feet of commercial space. There was a tug-of-war of sorts between the County of Marin and the City of San Rafael regarding which government agency would have jurisdiction over the site. When I first ran for office, the City of San Rafael was processing a development application from Shapell Industries that proposed 856 homes and assorted commercial buildings on only the St. Vincent’s portion of the properties. Shortly after I joined the Board of Supervisors, the San Rafael City Council voted to drop the Silveira/St. Vincent’s properties from the city’s sphere of influence, transferring full control of the land use planning to the County of Marin. I have long been committed to curtailing, as much as possible, large scale development of these lands and I believe the voters supported this position when they elected me to the Board eight years ago. I believe Marin County residents do not want to see the type of growth, which the business and construction industries support and which is evident in so many other areas of California where one city or town sprawls into the next. As the Countywide Plan was in the beginning stages of a major revision, County planners, Supervisors and the public were in a position to take a fresh look at the future use of these properties. A comprehensive analysis by the County found that there were a number of extremely important resource areas on the St. Vincent’s/Silveira lands, including tidelands; diked baylands; Miller creek and its riparian corridor; large areas within the 100-year floodplain; and the hills leading up to Pacheco Ridge at the northern edge of the site. As part of the new Countywide Plan approved in 2007, a fourth planning corridor was created. This new “Baylands Corridor” was established to protect important baylands and large adjacent undeveloped uplands (including St. Vincent’s and Silveira) along the bay shoreline. In the new Countywide Plan these properties are assigned the land use designation: “Agricultural and Environmental Resource Area”. Potential uses include agriculture and related uses, limited residential development, education and tourism, places of worship, institutional uses, and small-scale hospitality uses. The Board of Supervisors set the planning guidelines for these properties to include up to 221 dwelling units for the combined St. Vincent’s and Silveira sites. This equates to 121 market-rate dwelling units plus up to 100 additional units for low income households. Dwelling units would be allocated proportionally to the respective St. Vincent’s and Silveira areas, based on the total acreage of each property. Any new development would be located to protect resource areas and be concentrated in locations that minimize interference with the view corridor from Highway 101 to the bay. To date, no formal development plans have been submitted to the County for either of these properties.

Marinwood Village/Dixie School Bus Yard in FEMA flood zone

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse....

According to the 2009 FEMA Flood Zone Map. Fema Map home page  , over half of the Dixie School Bus Yard and parts of Marinwood Plaza appear to be on or next to the Miller Creek Flood Zone.

Aren't there significant restrictions to building in a flood zone?   Why isn't this fact public?


The Marinwood Village site appears very troubling for housing.  It has toxic chemicals, it is located next to a freeway with significant health hazards, two high powered microwave farms are located in the Southeast corner of the property and a 16 foot retaining wall will have to be built for the tenant and we may need a ladder truck for fighting fires in the multistory structures.  Of course the issues of school crowding, pollution, traffic, parking, strain on government services, and their 55 year tax free existance at the expense of the community won't be going away either.

It appears that Bridge Housing has some significant "selling" to do.