Marin about to release Environmental Study on Countywide Plan

After five years of work, the Marin County Community Development Agency is about to release its Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) on the draft Marin Countywide Plan. Key dates in the first three months of 2007 are:

Fri., Jan. 12 - public distribution of DEIR and re-release of 2005 draft plan; beginning of 60-day review period;
Tue., Jan. 30 - joint Planning Commission-Board of Supervisors hearing on schedule and process for the plan and DEIR;
Mon., Feb. 12 - Planning Commission hearing on the plan (afternoon) and DEIR (evening);
Mon., Feb. 26 - Planning Commission hearing on DEIR;
Mon., March 12 - 60-day DEIR public-comment period ends;
Mon., March 26 - Planning Commission hearing on the plan.

Hearings will be in the Board or Planning Commission chambers at Marin County Civic Center, third floor, San Rafael.

The Marin Group of the Sierra Club, together with other environmental groups, has been organizing and recruiting volunteers to push for strong conservation policies through an informal organization called the Campaign for Marin. The Campaign for Marin includes the Group, Marin Conservation League, Marin Audubon Society, Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN), Tomales Bay Association, and Marin Baylands Advocates. Nearly 100 activists attended the Campaign's Nov. 30 program on "Decoding the Marin Countywide Plan".

Major concerns include:

• the projected 10 million more square feet of commercial development;
• the need to designate lands along San Pablo Bay for natural-resource protection rather than development;
• inadequate protection of streams and riparian areas, especially in agricultural areas;
• a potential for mansions of up to 6,000 square feet in agricultural areas;
• the need for sustainable practices to reduce Marin's ecological footprint.

The Campaign is focusing on four main objectives, based on policies in Community Marin, which contains Countywide Plan recommendations from the major environmental organizations.

Preserve natural resources. Establish a Baylands Protection Corridor along San Pablo Bay, improve stream and riparian habitat, protect wetlands and wildlife habitat, and acquire sensitive lands. The draft plan offers three options for a Baylands Corridor, one of which would establish the boundary recommended by Community Marin, covering an area large enough to protect the entire ecosystem.

Protect agriculture and open space. Preserve genuine agricultural use on agricultural lands, and preserve community-separator greenbelts. Major problems with the draft plan are that it contains options that would allow a doubling of the allowable density on agricultural lands now zoned A-60 (one unit per 60 acres) and allow houses of up to 6,000 square feet, along with other non-agricultural activities.

Reduce traffic. Limit the amount of new commercial development, support mixed-use infill development, increase affordable housing in environmentally appropriate locations, and encourage the use of public transportation. The draft plan projects another 10 million square feet of commercial space at ultimate buildout, mostly in San Rafael and Novato. The intent of the original 1973 Countywide Plan was to involve the cities, but this has not happened, and so the plan is legally binding only on unincorporated parts of the county. The traffic generated by excessive commercial development will affect the entire county, which now has a high office vacancy rate. Another potential traffic disaster is a new town suggested at San Quentin.

Go green. Promote clean energy and green building, promote water conservation, and protect fisheries and other water resources. The draft plan contains extensive policies on green energy and building methods, but it omits a policy for joint planning with the water districts, which was in an earlier draft.

According to the introduction to the draft plan, its main theme is "sustainability", and it contains many strengthened policies for protection of wetlands, streams, and habitat. It also calls for retrofitting shopping malls with a more sustainable mixture of uses including housing. The total projected amount of development, however, is excessive, mainly because of the failure to engage the cities in the planning process, and the policies for agricultural areas could threaten the character of West and Central Marin. How "sustainable" will the plan really be?

WhatYouCanDo

The Campaign for Marin will be organizing a series of meetings to prepare for the county's coming hearings and to help activists with lobbying and outreach. To be notified, contact Marge Macris at (415) 381-6667; fax: (415)381-6668; or mmacris -at- aol.com or or (510) 848-0800, ext. 304

Marge Macris, member, Marin Group and Bay Chapter ExComms