Will we need a new Fire Ladder Company to fight fires at Marinwood Village ? We will DEFINITELY need one for Grady Ranch at 60 feet tall

Ladder Trucks are recommended for fighting fires in buildings above 35 feet high.
 Marinwood Village is 46 feet high at the highest point according to Bridge Housing plans.  Grady Ranch is 60 feet tall.

Ladder trucks can save lives.  This 4 story apartment fire appears to be a total loss. Imagine the catastrophe awaiting a 6 story apartment building  filled with seniors and disabled citizens. It will be a slow response time with trucks arriving from Novato and San Rafael.  Grady Ranch is 4 1/2 miles from the 101 freeway.

No ladder trucks can be seen in this photo.

Ladder trucks cost millons to buy, maintain, house and operate.



Ladder trucks and trained ladder companies are an enormous expense to the community.

New ladder trucks over a million dollars and they require additional trained fire staff to operate safely.  Marinwood Fire Department will be required to build a new fire station to house the equipment and the additional personnel. 

Our 11 man Marinwood Fire department budget consumes well over half of our 4.2 million dollar annual budget. Marinwood/Lucas Valley/ CSA 13 taxpayers pay some of the highest parcel taxes for fire service in all of Marin

Clearly more high density housing will cost this community dearly and new taxes will be needed for this expansion.  The Marinwood Village low income development will pay little taxes for their 82 units of family housing. According to Brad Wilban, Bridge Housing VP it will be approximately $142 per housing unit or $10,000 per year.  Many of us pay close  $10,000 for ONE HOUSE!!

A financial analysis of our Firefighting readiness and a financial analysis of costs are needed before considering the current Marinwood Village high density housing plans. 

If you question the wisdom of having a 3-4 story apartment building in our community without the fire safety equipment and trained personnel to keep our neighbors safe.  If you are upset that you will need to pay additional taxes to subsidize the Marinwood Village "big box" apartments,  please join "Save Marinwood"  to urge  sensible growth and wise land use.  Our County Supervisors must hear us.

Will residents living on the third floor of Marinwood Village be safe if the closest ladder trucks are miles away in other communities? How about the remote Grady Ranch with six stories?  


For more information see: When should you buy an aerial ladder

A future for all of us in Marinwood-Lucas Valley

Marinwood-Lucas Valley has one of the worst walk-bike scores of any neighborhood in Marin.  We live close to nature but it is also one of it's drawbacks, too.  Every time we need to go shopping, we need to get into a car.  Although Marinwood Market has helped keep shopping local, once its rent concessions evaporate, it's future is anything but secure. It is under no obligation to stay and lose money.

The Marinwood Village project threatens the success of Marinwood Market by reducing the available parking and visibility behind a 14 foot sound wall.  The occupants of the 85 units of affordable housing that will require at least 170 of the parking spaces. Other commercial tenants will also need their share of parking.  That leaves precious few parking spaces for Marinwood Market's customers. 

No wonder why Marinwood Plaza failed to lease out.   The dated structure sits atop of a toxic waste spill at the Prosperity cleaner site.   Suburban shopping trends have change too.  When the center was built more mothers stayed at home and shopped locally.  Now with a mobile workforce, both adults working, retail shopping trends have changed.  Easy access, visibility and abundant parking are essential for today's retail success.   It is more common to see a Marinwood neighbor in the easy access of the Hamilton Safeway than at the dated Terra Linda Safeway.

The center is poorly configured for a big box grocery store.  It is ideally configured and located for a market with a regional appeal.  A gourmet vendor like Marinwood Market or another Farm to Table specialty market along the lines of (www.oxbowmarket.com) can reap big profits from the location.  It is within minutes of all of Marin and it is the "gateway to West Marin" tourism.  Over 8 million tourists travel up the 101 freeway to wine country. 

Why not have the Marinwood Market as the fresh, local, market of  Northern California?   It could feature fresh cheeses, organic meat, eggs, dairy, wines and other specialities. 

A successful regional business at Marinwood Plaza will insure it's longevity and service to the community. 

Companion businesses could be a bicycle shop,  fitness studio, restaurants, coffeeshop and wine bar.

Weekend cyclists can use it as a rest stop and ride out to west Marin or along the bike path.


A food market close to home is important for the whole community.

Each of us will become mobility impaired someday-either through age or infirmity.  If we cannot drive, we will be forced from our home.  Not only is a walk/bike friendly shopping center more environmentally friendly and healthy,  it is also more compassionate for the mobility impaired.

The toxic waste at the Prosperity Cleaners site can be responsibly cleaned up with proper oversight and effort.  We need to address it. It is not "mitigated" yet as some have claimed.  Once this is done we can build our community anew. The tax revenue can be used to pay for the tax funding gap from non-profit affordable housing elsewhere in the community.

The future is ours.  What do you want it to be? Speak out before it is too late!

A real world look at the Future high density plans for Marin

The above video slide show is of high density housing in the Portland, Oregon area similar to what is being proposed by Plan Bay Area and the Marin County Housing Element.  Although Marinwood is nominated to be removed from the Priority Development Area,  the State and Local governments have not changed the underlying plans for intensive urban development along the 101 corridor.  The state is anticipated to pass SB-1 which provides local government to declare suburban tracts as "blight" if their development patterns are determined to be "inefficient".  This means your neighborhood could be converted to high density apartments as seen in this video.

We must Save Marinwood and our future.