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Group pushes saving bayfront
Thursday's event at the San Rafael Corporate Center endorsed proposals to establish a "baylands protection corridor" in the latest revision of the countywide plan. The environmental group's members include the Marin Audubon Society, Marin Conservation League, Sierra Club, Marin Baylands Advocates, Salmon Protection and Watershed Network and the Tomales Bay Association. Marin's countywide plan already includes three planning "corridors" that describe the kind of development county officials want in that area. The document sets standards for planning decisions in the 87 percent of the county that's unincorporated - home to about 28 percent of its population. The plan has designated the "coastal corridor" in West Marin for recreation, the "inland rural corridor" for agriculture and the "city centered corridor" for commercial and residential use. A proposed change to the plan would turn part of the "city centered corridor" into a "baylands protection corridor." The area would include diked marshlands and other shoreline areas of northern San Rafael and Novato east of Highway 101. Almost all of that land is already included in the countywide plan as a "bayfront conservation zone," requiring extensive environmental evaluation before any development can be approved. Those measures are intended to protect wildlife, limit construction in areas that could be easily damaged by earthquakes and prevent floods. "There's a lot that's already been built, and we can't ask people to take it out," said Gordon Bennett, president of the Sierra Club's Marin Group. "But there are also new homes being designed, and we can ask that they be set back from the creeks." County planners say the proposed change wouldn't add any protections to the area, or make the rules for development any stricter than they already are. "It is our intent that there not be additional wetlands protections," said county Community Development Director Alex Hinds. "Making it a corridor highlights the historic importance of the baylands." However, the boundaries of the land granted protection could increase slightly, depending on which version of the "corridor" county supervisors approve. "On balance, the increase would not be large," Hinds said. "However, if it's your property that might be added to the corridor, the subject is of great interest to you." Inclusion in a county "baylands protection corridor" won't affect properties within the city limits of Novato and San Rafael, which fall under the jurisdiction of those cities. "In the past, previous additions to the plan have been voluntarily adopted by the countywide planning agency and individual towns and cities," Hinds said. "We have the power of a good idea." Environmental activists hope to use those "good ideas" to influence city councils to discourage further commercial development in favor of affordable housing, mixed-use development and land protection. "The current plan projects 10 million more square feet of commercial and industrial space" in the county, said Barbara Salzman, president of the Marin Audubon Society. "That's as much as 18 Transamerica pyramids," she added, holding up a model of San Francisco's iconic building. "Whenever housing is proposed, neighbors always complain about traffic. But most of that traffic goes to commercial developments. It's important for cities and the county to work together to address this problem. We're all facing this problem together, and we should all work on it together." While most in attendance at Thursday's meeting supported the idea of a baylands corridor, some questioned how the county can balance its desire for environmental protection with its expressed goal of providing more affordable housing. Others asked whether the proposed changes amounted to a taking of shorefront property. "I share your goals, but I believe there must be alternatives to legal confiscation," said Jack Krystal, a property owner who previously has proposed building a hotel and conference facility on the Richardson Bay shoreline. "We don't want to find ourselves with a plan that generates litigation for years to come. What inducement will you provide to the property owners who will be affected?" Environmentalists said they favor the creation of a baylands corridor because it would make the area's regulations as clear as possible to potential developers. "I'd rather say 'here's what the rules are' and avoid having the Sierra Club being police," Bennett said. County officials, including the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission, will consider three options for a "baylands protection corridor" during the next year. The three options differ slightly in their boundaries, with one option using the county's historic railroad tracks as a dividing line and others using information compiled by environmental scientists to set borders. The plan's revisions, more than five years in the making, are long overdue, Hinds said. "Four years ago, we were ahead of the curve. Now we're behind it," Hinds said. Contact Rob Rogers via e-mail at rrogers@marinij.com |
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