Marin's New District Attorney, Lori Frugoli March 6, 2019

Marin Coalition Presents: Wednesday March 6, 2019  “What’s On The Agenda for Marin’s New District Attorney” Speaker: Lori Frugoli - District Attorney, County of Marin For the first time since 2005, Marin County has a new District Attorney: After two elections, Lori Frugoli prevailed over the field in both the primary and November runoff and replaced retiring D.A. Edward Berberian (a 42-year Marin County prosecutor) in January, becoming the second woman elected to that post. Come hear our D.A. describe her priorities as a newly elected office-holder and answer your questions about the direction she hopes to take her department. Lori Frugoli’s commitment to public service through public safety began early.  She is a Marin native and was first inspired to keep Marin safe when she participated in a Terra Linda High School Ride-a- Long program. Throughout her career, Lori has been a pioneer, “breaking the glass ceiling” in law enforcement as the first women to volunteer as a Reserve Police Officer in San Rafael and on the Downtown Walking beat in the Santa Rosa Police Department. In addition, Lori worked in investigations on arson, property fraud and embezzlement; undercover in drug and prostitution crimes; and as a member of the Hostage Negotiations Team. She continued working as a Deputy Sheriff in Marin County while putting herself through law school became a Deputy District Attorney for the County in 1990. Throughout her 28-year career as a Deputy District Attorney, Lori has represented Marin in thousands of cases and over 100 jury trials. Her diverse and challenging caseload has included seeking justice for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, home invasions and elder abuse. She has served as coordinator and supervisor for various criminal departments in the DA’s office and Alternative Justice Courts. Lori was one of the first prosecutors in California to present expert evidence and testimony using Mitochondrial DNA evidence. The recipient of many prestigious awards and recognitions, Lori has an established reputation in the community for treating all people with respect and professionalism.

Marin union votes to strike

June 20, 2018 Robert Fellner 

Despite the fact that local government workers in Marin County receive wages higher than local government workers in over 99 percent of counties nationwide — even after adjusting for regional cost differences among the 50 states — the largest government union in Marin has formally authorized a strike, according to the Marin Independent Journal.

The dispute centers over the size of pay raises that will be provided over the next 3 years, as well as other unknown conditions. The unknown conditions reflect the fact that state law shrouds government union negotiations in secrecy, ensuring the taxpayers responsible for paying the entire cost of the eventual contract are kept in the dark.

The Marin IJ also reported that a salary survey revealed that Marin County workers are paid, on average, 7.8 percent higher more than their government peers in the Bay Area.

And this is on top of non-wage benefits (like job security, number of paid leave days, retirement benefits and health insurance) that are all significantly greater than what the average private-sector worker receives.

It is an uncontroversial fact that one of the defining features of a monopoly is its ability to obtain excess wages/profits, at the expense of social welfare.

This is true even when the monopoly in question is a labor union.

Thus, a willingness to strike despite receiving pay and benefits that are already significantly above market levels — even when that market is restricted to only other Bay Area governments — is an entirely predictable, and even rational action from the perspective of the monopoly union.

Absent a change to the state laws that grant government unions coercive, monopolistic powers, it is likely that Californians will continue to see their taxes raised in order to fund the demands of government unions.

https://blog.transparentcalifornia.com/2018/06/20/marin-union-votes-to-strike/

Is Marin really rich? Myth busted.

Is Marin really rich? Myth busted. Check the distribution of income for a real world analysis.

Financial Analyst from Co$T presents income distribution statistics for Marin that busts the myth that Marin is rich.  In fact, there is a wide range of income classes in Marin but skewed because the concentration of Billionaires and Millionaires overshadows the working class parts of the county.  Marin has LOWER average per capita income than neighboring San Francisco.  When the data distribution is compared this is even more dramatic. This is due to the high number of retirees and recent immigrants.

Landlord Mediation Rule in Marin County

I Want it All Now! Documentary on Marin County (1978)

From deep in NBC's archives, a funky '70s documentary which brought Marin County, California to national attention, from its deadbeat parents to its misguided fascination with mystical oriental ooga-booga horseshit. If you ever wondered why people associate peacock feathers and suicide with Marin, this is why. Strangely, Tupac Shakur does not make a cameo

Tenant demands that Marin Supervisors lower property values in unincorporated Marin (Marinwood)

David Schoenbraun, a self described "aging tenant" speaks at the housing workshop held at the Marin County Board of Supervisors on August 1, 2017.  The supervisors are considering sweeping regulations to limit rights of landlords to evict,  raise rents and will lower property values in unincorporated Marin County.  Mr. Schoenbraun thinks that only "bad landlords" will be affected and claims it is for the "public interest".

Marin County law forces coastal farmers to work for life.

Tucker Carlson throws "Red Meat" to Marin County haters

Completely wrong and misinformed on many levels. I am a Marin county resident and while I acknowledge that we have lots of liberal hypocrisy, this issue isnt one of them. Marin County is a suburban county and should have affordable housing density similar to our suburban county neighbors of Sonoma and Napa counties. The previous requirement is that we build urban densities of 30 units per acre like San Francisco. This law corrects that mistake. Unfortunately, the writers fell prey of the spin by the pro affordable housing crowd that wants to urbanize Marin.

Marin and Silveiras reach 10-year deal on San Rafael ranch

The Silveira Ranch along Highway 101 in San Rafael will remain agricultural for another 10 years under a deal with the county announced Tuesday. At rear is the St. Vincent’s School for Boys. IJ file photo

By Richard Halstead, Marin Independent Journal

POSTED: 06/20/17, 7:04 PM PDT | UPDATED: 39 SECS AGO

8 COMMENTS

One of the largest parcels of undeveloped land left in Marin will be off limits to commercial development for at least the next 10 years following an agreement between Marin County and the Silveira family.

Marin County Counsel Brian Washington announced Tuesday that the day before the county and the Silveiras reached a settlement agreement “whereby the Silveiras will release any claims against the county arising from the 2007 Countywide Plan and will enter into a Williamson Act contract on their San Rafael ranch parcel to preserve their land for agricultural uses for at least 10 years.

“In return for this,” Washington said, “the county will pay approximately $2.6 million in unpaid property taxes and related penalties and interest for their San Rafael ranch property.”

“We appreciate the Silveiras coming to the table to find a win-win solution,” said Supervisor Damon Connolly, who worked on a committee with former supervisor Steve Kinsey to hammer out the agreement.

“It was something I felt was important to get some kind of resolution to,” Connolly said. “The community benefits from at least another 10 years of agricultural use on the property and entering into a Williamson Act contract on the property will allow the Silveiras to pay lower taxes going forward.”

The Williamson Act is a state law that provides relief of property tax to owners of farmland and open space in exchange for a 10-year agreement that the land will not be developed.

“In the meantime, I don’t view my work as being done,” Connolly said. “I would ultimately like to see a permanent conservation or preservation of this land working with the Silveiras and community stakeholders.”

Richard Bowles, the ranchers’ Walnut Creek-based attorney, said, “The Silveiras feel it’s appropriate that they are now back to a situation where they’re being taxed as agricultural property as they were way back in 1974 and should have been all the way along.”

Veteran Marin County Planning Commissioner Don Dickenson said, “I think it is a very positive move. It’s not an acquisition so it’s not a permanent preservation, but it does maintain the status quo for a period of time.”

Barbara Salzman, president of the Marin Audubon Society, said, “I think it is great agreement. It will hopefully lead to some protection for the important resource lands on their property and enables it to stay undeveloped for some time.” See Full Story HERE

Editors Note: Why does everyone think they own the Silveira Ranches and have a right to force development or take away rights from them? It is nearly 100 year old family business which has provided us healthy locally grown food and dairy. They deserve the right to guide their own future, just like you do with your property. The so called "settlement" was the county relinquishing its questionable claim for back taxes that it imposed in violation of the Williamson Act. Of course, the county had unlimited legal resources and the Silveiras had to defend themselves for over 40 years. They are good neighbors and deserve our support.

What housing crisis? Last-minute bill would let wealthy Marin County limit home building

 What housing crisis? Last-minute bill would let wealthy Marin County limit home building

Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael), right, discusses legislation in 2016. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)
Liam DillonContact Reporter



One of California’s wealthiest counties may continue to get a pass under the state’s affordable housing laws.

Lawmakers are considering a measure that would allow parts of Marin County to limit growth more tightly than other regions of California. The provision, inserted last week into a bill connected to the state budget, lets Marin County’s largest cities and unincorporated areas maintain extra restrictions on how many homes developers can build.

Housing advocates say the carve-out runs counter to the push by Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers for more development as a way to combat the state’s housing affordability problems.

Since the changes are tied to last week’s passage of the state budget, which Brown has yet to sign, the measure does not have to go through the regular committee process. It’s had just one public hearing and lawmakers could vote on the bill as early as Thursday.

The measure, Assembly Bill 121, is the latest salvo in a lengthy debate about low-income housing in the Northern California county, which has one of the state’s largest gaps between rich and poor.

Following a 2009 investigation by federal housing officials, Marin County supervisors agreed to boost affordable development as a way to desegregate the mostly white region. But neighborhood opposition to low-income housing continued, including a long-stalled 2013 proposal from “Star Wars” creator George Lucas to build hundreds of affordable units on a former dairy farm.

Today, the county’s per capita income of $60,236 is the highest of any county in the state, according to U.S. census figures. But the average renter in Marin County makes just $19.21 an hour and would need to work 77 hours a week to afford a studio apartment at the $1,915-a-month market rate, according to data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

The bill came at the request of Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael). Levine said his proposal reflects Marin County’s character: Communities there should have buildings that look like those in Santa Rosa and Petaluma rather than those in the larger cities of Oakland and San Francisco.


“If you're standing on the ground there, it's a suburban county and then if you were to hike a couple of miles west, you would see that it is a rural county,” Levine said.

Brown and legislators have been working on a package of bills that aim to increase funding for low-income housing as well as wipe away some of the restrictions local governments put on development. But no significant measure has passed in recent years, frustrating housing advocates.

“In a year where the Legislature has been talking endlessly about the housing crisis in this state and trying to make it easier to build affordable housing and higher-density housing, the one and only thing that comes out of the budget process is a deeply flawed measure that only adds barriers to development in one of the most exclusionary counties in the state,” said Anya Lawler, policy advocate at the Western Center on Law & Poverty.

Levine agrees Marin County has an affordable housing crisis, and argued the bill would actually help make it easier to build.

We have an affordable housing crisis in #Marin and #Sonoma. Solutions are complicated, but Dr Sweeney @HomewrdBndMarin is helping to solve.

The budget-related legislation extends a law written by Levine in 2014. The original law allowed the cities of Novato and San Rafael, as well as unincorporated Marin County, to shrink the size of projects they’d allow developers to build to below roughly three stories high. That would be more generous than what other areas of California are allowed under state housing law.

Generally, affordable housing developers need to build larger projects for them to be financially viable. But some affordable housing groups in the region supported Levine’s initial effort because they believed smaller sizes might limit some community opposition.

Beyond that, Levine said, land in the county is very expensive and smaller projects can avoid costs often associated with larger buildings, such as steel construction and underground parking.

Levine’s original law was supposed to expire at the end of 2023. But under AB 121, the lower-density rules would continue for five years after that.

Housing advocates who are against his bill don’t understand how affordable housing can get done in his district, Levine said.

“There are ideologues in housing,” he said. “What I'm most interested in is pragmatic approaches that result in more housing for the people that need it.”

Some who supported Levine’s initial approach now are against AB 121. Michael Lane, policy director for the Non-Profit Housing Assn. of Northern California, said Levine’s new bill doesn’t make sense.

The original law required Novato, San Rafael and Marin County to analyze its effects on affordable construction by 2019. Lane said there is no reason to extend the law’s provisions before knowing whether it has worked.

“It’s way too early,” Lane said. “We don’t understand why this became a priority and why all the other housing issues didn’t.”

At the measure’s hearing before legislators Tuesday, Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber) criticized the bill, calling out what he said were “hypocritical” communities that don't want to do their part in solving the housing problem. “They love their lifestyles, but don’t bother us with the low-income housing,” Nielsen said of those local residents.

Brown and the legislative leadership typically agree on budget-related bills before they’re introduced. Levine said he was able to get his housing provision into such a bill because “that’s just the way it evolved.”

Spokespeople for Brown, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) either declined to comment or gave no substantive response to the bill.

“It got put in,” said Kevin Liao, a Rendon spokesman. “It’s the nature of the budget negotiations.”

Editor's Note: While this LA Times writer is bashing Marc Levine and Marin County unfairly and failed to identify WHY the bill was submitted,  at least they are reporting it. (Where is the Marin IJ?)  George Lucas stopped development of his projects because of environmental restrictions not just local opposition.  Had he promoted a site that was closer to 101 freeway and did not negatively impact Miller Creek, it is likely that he would have a project today.

Judy Arnold: "Marin to become Metropolitan County"

Marin Supervisor Judy Arnold states that Assemblyman Mark Levine is sponsoring a bill to make Marin a Metropolitan County. It will allow higher housing density on par with urban San Francisco. Such a designation was strongly objected to by the voters and Assemblyman Levine successfully passed a temporary designation back to "suburban" which allows lower density housing. It should be noted that Ms Arnold could be confused and in fact Mr. Levine could be creating a bill to make "suburban" designation permanent. It is unclear from Ms. Arnolds' statement. Maybe Ms. Arnold was tired and misspoke.

Marin Voice: County puts development pressure on Silveira Ranch

By Niccolo Caldararo

Posted: 01/12/17, 11:56 AM PST | Updated: 2 hrs ago

0 Comments

The decision of the Marin Board of Supervisors to force the Silveira family to settle or sue over the rezoning of their San Rafael property is not a responsible action.

Right now, the property is being used productively and its impact on traffic and the environment is a known factor integrated in the current problems we face daily.

By forcing the family to take action, we will find a development which will increase traffic and pollution. The county might also spend a bundle of money on a fool’s errand of trying to manage in court what it has failed to achieve in negotiations. This all could have been avoided if the county had not initiated cancellation of the Silveira property’s tax reduction under the Williamson Act in 1986.

According to the Marin Conservation League, the state’s Williamson Act was passed in 1965 and the Silveira Ranch entered into a contract to reduce the property tax assessment on its ranchland. But after the county designated the property as one of its development “corridors,” the county initiated termination of the contract and the ranch is now taxed at market value based on its development potential.

It is obvious that the history of proposals from the Silveira family, the city of San Rafael, the county and various environmental and other groups have failed to reach consensus on either development, purchase to save the ranchland as open space or any other plan.


The status quo between the county and the family has been breached again by the Board of Supervisors, with no real plan in place.

See the full article HERE 

Marin considers making "Section 8 discrimination" illegal 10/25/2016

Marin Urban Pipeline Projects

Editor's Note: This was sent to me by a supporter and is incomplete, especially in Marinwood Lucas Valley where an addition 700 + units are now being considered.  At St. Vincents/Silveira Ranch, they are proposing 224 units of affordable and market rate housing but have keep their progress from public view.  Former Marin Supervisor Gary Giacomini is involved with the project.

The Marin County of Popular Imagination and the Real Marin

The Marin County of popular imagination

and the Real Marin