Marinwood Association

JULY 10TH COMMUNITY WORKSHOP
7:30 pm at the Marinwood Community Center

The proposed Conceptual Plan for the redevelopment
of the Marinwood Plaza site will be ready for community review
on July 10th.

The July 10th Workshop is designed to provide you with information
about the proposed Conceptual Plan.
AND to give you an opportunity to ask questions,
make  comments  and offer suggestions.
The Plan must first be accepted by the Community before
it goes to the Board of Supervisors for final approval.

Essentially, the proposed Conceptual Plan will consist of a conceptual drawing, a perspective sketch and guideline principles.
The Plan proposes that the retail space component include 20,000 square feet for a market and 4,000 square feet for ancillary retail
(coffee shop, mailing services, cleaners, etc.). Both the 20,000 and the 4,000 square feet of space would be built during the first phase of construction. Another 8,000 square feet of ancillary retail space will be shown on the drawings but would not be built until additional demand is shown. The Plan also proposes that the housing component include a total of 100 units, divided between townhouses and apartments.
Of the total 100 units, there will be a percentage breakdown between market rate and affordable. The percentage breakdown is being discussed by the county and the property owners. This information should be available by the July 10th Workshop.

The drawings and principles will propose a village style development.
A community plaza would front onto Marinwood Avenue with the market and some retail along the edges of the Plaza.  Marinwood Avenue would be redesigned into a tree lined boulevard.

The July 10th Workshop will also be an opportunity for the community
to express a determination to get a market at the site.
Remember, the Novato community was able to persuade Whole Foods and Trader Joe’sto locate in Novato by coming together as a community and presenting to the market owners a strong case for locating in Novato.

Recruiting a market and approving a development project are linked.
The Novato community provided support for a development project
which includes the Whole Foods market (approximately 53,675 square feet) and 125 residential condominium units on a  land  area approximately one-half the size of the proposed Marinwood site.

The Community Reps have been making the case for Marinwood to prospective market owners.
Now, with the potential completion of the Conceptual Plan our case gets stronger.
The market owners can now begin to get an idea of what the project will look like.

Follow-up Community Workshops are scheduled for July 17th and July 24th
in the event that some changes in the Plan are required. Once the Community is satisfied with the Plan it will be presented to the County Board of Supervisors for approval. This will take place either in August or September.
Following Board approval, the property owner will be entitled to submit a Development Plan based on the Conceptual Plan.

The conceptual drawing, the perspective sketch and the principles should
all be available for public distribution following a group planning meeting on June 5thand before the Community Workshop on July 10th. We will notify you how to obtain copies as soon as they become available.

In the last Newsletter I included a marinwoodplaza email address and
suggested that you send questions to that address.
I have since been informed that the address has technical problems.
I apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused some of you.

To address this problem and to maximize your opportunity to obtain information about the Plan, each of the Community Reps has agreed to provide contact information and to be available to provide information about the Plan and answer your questions.
If you call and get an answering machine, leave a return phone number and suggest a best time to call.
Someone will get back to you. One suggestion: if you have a complicated or technical question, e.g. about traffic, send the question by email. We may have to consult with a County Planner to get you the best  information available before we can respond.

Following are the names and the contact information for each of the Community Reps:

1. Bruce Anderson, phone #: 492-1699,  email: Bruce@home2150.com

2. Cyane Dandridge, email: Cyane@london.seiinc.org

3. John Hammond, phone #: 479-3013,
email: johnhammondclu@yahoo.com

4. Bill Hansell, phone #: 378-9064, email: info@hanselldesign.com

5. Jerry Kay, phone #: 479-5300, email: jerryk1234@yahoo.com

6. Geoff Mack, phone #: 492-8866, email: geoffmack@gmail.com

7. David Mitchell, phone #: 472-7526, email: dsmitch43@msn.com

8. Frank Nelson, phone #: 479-2254, email: flnelsonn@comcast.net

9. Joe Runco, phone #: 491-4936, email: rjrunco@comcast.net

WHETHER OR NOT THE MARINWOOD COMMUNITY GETS A GROCERY STORE IS NOW UP TO YOU

Your volunteer Community Reps have just about completed their task.

Presentation of the proposed Marinwood Village Plan is scheduled for Monday, July 10, 2006,
7:30 pm at the Marinwood Community Center.

The Planning Group (Community Reps, Owners and County Planners) is busy preparing a
Perspective Sketch of the proposed plan and a set of written Principle’s.
Our goal is to have these completed by June 5th.

We are pleased with the results. We believe you will like what you see.

Your response to the plan will determine the future of the project and our ability
to recruit a Grocery Store.

Consequently, it is important that you learn everything you can about the plan
and, right now, begin to seek out answers to your concerns.

When you attend the Community Workshop Meeting on July 10th, it is our hope that you
go to the meeting  with a sense of excitement about this opportunity for our community.
We believe this project will enhance the Marinwood community.
The owners of the property will be present to hear your reactions.
We  will encourage Grocery Store owners to attend the meeting so that
they can see for themselves why they should locate a store in Marinwood.

Right now, our immediate goal and top priority is to provide you with information
about the project and be available to answer your questions.

If you would like a phone call from a Community Rep who will discuss the project with you then
email your name and phone number to us at  flnelsonn@comcast.net
and suggest a time when it is best to reach you.

The regular monthly community meeting is coming up on Wednesday, May 24th, 7:30 pm
in the back classroom of the Marinwood Community Center. Several Community Reps
will be present and we will have draft copies of the concept drawing and a draft of the principles.
Stop by and join the discussion circle.

If you live in Casa Marinwood, your board of directors is going to schedule a community meeting within the next few weeks. Several Community Reps will be present to describe the plan and to answer your questions.
Watch your community newsletter for the date and time.

If you would like to host a neighborhood coffee and invite a few neighbors over to learn about the plan,
email us at flnelsonn@comcast.net and we will arrange to have a couple of Community Reps attend and
answer your questions.

If you belong to a local organization or association whose members would like to learn more about the plan,
let us know and we will attend a meeting.

Getting the information is an important part of the political process.
Another important part is letting your political representative know your position.
The redevelopment of the Marinwood Plaza is a major project.
It is important that our Supervisor hear from the community
that we fully support this redevelopment project.
It is the Supervisor who makes land use projects happen.

Our Supervisor, Susan Adams, can be reached by email at SAdams@co.marin.ca.us