Major Victory for Sensible Development in Marin!

Dear MCA Supporters and Neighborhood Leaders:


As we informed you in our last update… When the Superior Court ruled in favor of the MCA and set aside the 2012 Housing Element (HE) SEIR, the county said (Marin IJ reported) the victory was theirs and the traffic issue raised was a minor issue. Then on July 6th, the County filed a Motion to Vacate the judge’s ruling. In essence the county disagreed with the judge’s decision and wanted the Court to issue a different ruling. They filed their reasons; we filed our response.

On August 7th the judge told the county that his decision stands! And he was very firm in his response to the county as to why their arguments did not hold water. You can read those docs here Chernus' Ruling

What’s next? Here are the options:

A. The county could appeal the decision.

B. MCA could appeal the decision in order to permanently throw out SEIR as inadequate.

C. The county could do the Superior Court ordered traffic study to replace the inadequate one they used in the old 2012 HE plan.

For the moment, the SEIR and the 2012 HE are LEGALLY SET ASIDE. This keeps the rampant urbanization of Marin County at bay as the BOS scrambles to address the judge’s requirements. The current HE 2015-2023 is relying on this SEIR so this could impact any development plans that rely upon the SEIR for gifts of density. Therefore, this may be a chance for Marin's citizens to legally challenge the current HE on grounds other than CEQA.

Your support has kept us going this far. We and our attorney Michael Graf have put in countless hours to protect our beautiful Marin heritage from overdevelopment and political greed.

MCA NEEDs YOUR SUPPORT!

As we anticipate the likely filing of Appeals by the deadline of Sept 9th, MCA needs your help now to be able to continue with these incredible legal victories. We need your donations to help us raise $5,000.

DONATE. to help MCA make a lasting difference for a better Future for Marin!

We rely upon your generous financial support and thank you for past contributions!

Meehyun Kurtzman
MCA Team

P.S. MCA news is disseminated via www.alliancemarin.org and at Marin Post. Sign up for Marin Post to see what is really going on in Marin. www.marinpost.org

SEIR (Supplemental Environmental Impact Report) click here for the site list in Marin with pre-approved high density zoning.


Attachments area

Preview attachment Court Ruling on Motion to Vacate -- C5_57522583.pdf




Court Ruling on Motion to Vacate -- C5_57522583.pdf

What the MCA legal victory for a Complete EIR for Housing means for Marin

IJ and County Spin MCA Result

Yes, our victory was narrowly defined. And yes, Steve Kinsey, County Counsel and the IJ dismissed it as minor and easily dealt with—is anyone surprised at that? Were we expecting differently from the IJ or the county?

MCA Victory

We asked the court to set aside the FSEIR for further review or throw it out altogether. However narrowly defined, the FSEIR, for now, is set aside. This FSEIR is the foundation for both the old and the new Housing Element. It is what developers are waiting to be nailed down before they come forward with their massive projects for these 49 areas that the county has pre-defined as being ripe for high density housing.

The ruling states that the County will need to do a traffic study, which they will narrowly define, but we believe it will also be subject to Public Hearings. We all know these hearings are theater, but it is another opportunity in the political arena and in an election year cycle, to make the points that need to be made about the county’s headlong rush into overbuilding.  As they ignore cumulative impacts by dealing with projects on a “case by case basis” like we are now seeing at St. Vincent’s/Silveira and Grady, the county is pushing for 30+ units/acre and disregarding impacts on schools, traffic and the environment.

Why You Should Care about Lucas Valley

The traffic study may concentrate only on the impacts to Lucas Valley Road of the many projects being planned or waiting in the wings. If you think this only concerns Lucas Valley, or if you think that putting all these projects into this one area is going to protect your area, we fear you are missing the point. Traffic in one given area affects all of Marin. More importantly, every project that goes through without addressing the local conditions becomes another nail in the coffin for every other area. Every time we write off one set of residents who are voicing legitimate concerns about high-density development, we risk losing everyone’s rights, which are eroding daily.

DeathStar comes to Lucas Valley

George Lucas is proposing 224 units of housing with a multiplex building 60 foot tall with huge underground parking garage! This is bigger than Wincup. What are the consequences of locating such a huge project far up the road where residents will have to drive, further clogging 101 when they do? This project, if allowed to build in a remote area as pristine as Lucas valley, sets a dangerous precedence for the entire county.

Next Steps:

We will keep you posted on the MCA lawsuit and share information as we can and hope you will continue your efforts. Our rallying cry now is “Not just Lucas Valley: Marin wants County-Wide Traffic Study” as the meaningful study we need done.

ACTIONS:

**Send Letters to BOS on traffic concerns –It’s not just affecting Lucas Valley

**Those of you in Kate Sears’s District: attend her Traffic Meeting Sat and talk about the increase in traffic from all the high density housing! Details:

TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY OF MARIN

Invites you to a

COMMUNITY WORKSHOP

Saturday, June 20th
11:00 am to 3:00 pm

San Rafael High School Cafeteria

185 Mission Avenue

San Rafael

~ lunch provided~

We want to hear from you. Attend the workshop and let us know about your transportation needs and the types of projects you’d like to see funded.

Please see details in the link provided here.


http://www.tam.ca.gov/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8545


Pllease share this message.
Meehyun and MCA team

An Update on the MCA legal action on the SEIR.

Dear MCA Supporters:

Yesterday morning, Attorney Michael Graf (for Plaintiff MCA) and David Zaltzman (for Respondent County of Marin) appeared before Marin County Superior Court Judge Roy Chernus to present oral arguments and responses to the Court’s specific questions of the Tentative Ruling. The Court Hearing, which lasted nearly two hours, was well attended by members of the public.  At the conclusion, Judge Chernus announced that the Court would render its Decision at a future date.

A Court Decision will be available on an unspecified date, sometime within thin the next 90 days.

Highlights:

Michael Graf expertly answered Honorable Judge Chernus’ questions and gave compelling argument in support of this lawsuit, which is outlined in his Opening Brief and Reply Brief (posted on www. alliancemarin.org).
I was particularly amused by the animated debate David Zaltzman gave on two points.   First, he suggested that MCA conceded our claim against the county’s up zoning of 5000+ acres.  We did not.  This highlights though one of many egregious actions of the county and particularly the board of supervisors (BOS) in certifying their Countywide Plan (CWP) Amendment of 2012.  This amendment up zoned over 5000 acres of land all over Marin without proper notice nor CEQA review.  The county called it a “technical correction” but it was a most egregious and illegal action by the BOS to approve it.  Citizens should REMEMBER that when they go to the ballot box next time they vote.

Second, he said citizens of Marin should be grateful George Lucas is building affordable housing in Grady Ranch, soon after he conceded that the maximum units studied under the master plan for the George Lucas Film Complex was only 40 not 240 units.  Grady Ranch was never studied for 240 residential units in the CWP Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which they tiered off for the Housing Element Supplemental EIR.  Thus one of the reasons MCA challenged the validity of the BOS certified SEIR.  If you recall the judge’s tentative ruling, this issue was the only question Mr. Zaltzman was asked.

Mr. Zaltzman himself singled out George Lucas, one citizen out of 260,750 Marin residents affected by the actions of the county, as someone Marin should be grateful for?
We will keep you informed!

Thank you for all of your support, and thank you to all those who were able to attend this important Court Hearing yesterday!  Have good thoughts for MCA that the Lady Justice will do what she does best.

Alliance Marin needs You!

WWW.ALLIANCEMARIN.ORG

SUPPORT THE LAWSUIT

(read the filed writ on www.alliancemarin.org)

The MCA Legal Challenge is the BEST CHANCE we have

to control high-density and overdevelopment in Marin

Help Preserve Marin’s Character

Protect our Environmental Review Process

The Marin Community Alliance (MCA), a grassroots organization, filed a legal challenge to the Marin County Housing Element approved by the County in 2013.

 MCA believes Marin County Deserves Better

This legal challenge was filed on behalf of all Marin County residents whose largely-ignored comments and concerns about the environmental review process were not properly considered in the final resolution decision - the abbreviated review that the County conducted, its reliance on substantially outdated documents, & failure to address the potentially significant environmental impacts.

The many Marin residents that voiced valid concerns and disagreement with many aspects of the Housing Element now have the opportunity to have these matters of record reviewed, legitimately considered, and appropriate remedies sought, so that a final Housing Element and plan can be properly evaluated.

Say NO to Housing Policies not in sync with Marin’s 

 character and support a balanced approach to development

PLEASE JOIN US TO SUPPORT THIS EFFORT!  

Donate on-line at www.alliancemarin.org - By mail to P.O. Box 6553

 San Rafael, CA 94903-0553 – Contact us at email: alliancemarin@gmail.com

Who is Marin Community Alliance:  MCA?

MCA is a grassroots organization of concerned county residents, formed to challenge the Housing Element (Plan) adopted by Marin County Board of Supervisors on September 24 last year.

What is the MCA lawsuit?

The MCA lawsuit is a CEQA legal challenge based on the very well-documented, significant factual errors in the county’s approval process that substantially short-circuited State CEQA requirements.  Serious objections to the Plan were voiced by hundreds of residents and multiple communities throughout Marin during Public Hearings, but they were unfortunately ignored and the Plan was approved by the Board of Supervisors in its deficient, flawed form.

What is CEQA?

The California Environmental Quality Act, was created to help communities assess environmental impacts, and avoid or reduce damage and foreseeable indirect change to such things as transportation, land, water, public services, housing, infrastructure and other resources.  Lawsuits invoking CEQA must be filed within 30 days of a decision. The MCA met the deadline and it is the only viable avenue of redress for Marin residents. Your support now is very important to bring an end to the flawed Plan.

I live in a city in Marin/I’m not in a PDA so does this County issue concern me?

Yes!  Unincorporated Marin County was given housing (RHNA) numbers just the same as our Marin cities were; transferring the housing burden to the 101 corridor, just as the cities did.  This will add to the number of new developments we will all painfully experience along the 101 Corridor, disregarding traffic, sea-level rise, and county water supply impacts. The state, cities and county NEVER considered the combined cumulative impact of these decisions on all of us. This clearly violates CEQA.

What are some of the good outcomes we could all gain if the lawsuit succeeds?

The successful conclusion to MCA’s legal challenge will ensure for all in Marin that the financial and environmental impacts of any site-selection process, anywhere in the county, will be distributed in a fair and balanced way — honoring and in alignment with the County's greater interests, for all future housing-related development and transportation planning approvals going forward. This likely means no more WinCup-like projects built in inappropriate locations, and true respect for the local communities’ character and residents.

Aren’t we in a drought? Where is the water for all this new development going to come from?

Good question! CEQA “streamlining” as presented by the state and county ignores the fact that we have limited water, parking, road capacity- every resource. Developers shouldn’t just leave and take their profit, leaving local communities to inherit ongoing and higher future burdens on essentials like water supply, traffic and infrastructure, all of which results in higher costs and other, added stresses to people and businesses.

How can we support the MCA legal challenge to ensure we have GOOD county policies for Marin?

The MCA lawsuit is our best, first, and ONLY way to put a direct stop to the planned high-density huge growth being pushed onto our county. This suit requires the county to follow its own rules to use current and accurate data, and credibly assess financial and environmental impacts on proposed developments and any site-selection process before approving it.  The MCA needs and appreciates your voluntary donation to help fund the legal costs required for this important challenge!  Together, we can achieve a Better Future!