Marinwood Association

SIERRA CLUB SUPPORT

On September 13th, the Marinwood Community Reps made a presentation to the Sierra Club Marin Group at their monthly Executive Committee meeting. The Reps described the Marinwood Village Concept Plan and discussed the community-based planning process
(wherein the community assumes a leadership role in the planning process) and the importance of continuing the community-based process as the Marinwood Village project moves forward into the design stage.

Following the Community Reps presentation, the Executive Committee
voted, unanimously, to support the Marinwod Village Concept Plan
and the community-based planning process.

Following is a copy of the Sierra Club Marin Group’s letter of support.
A representative of the Sierra Club Marin Group will be present at the Board of Supervisors meeting on September 26th
to express support for the plan and the process.

Sierra Club Marin Group
Box 3058 San Rafael CA 94912
sanfranciscobay.sierraclub.org/marin
c/o Gordon Bennett 40 Sunnyside Dr Inverness CA 94937
415-663-1881/gbatmuirb@aol.com

September 15, 2006

Marin County Board of Supervisors
3501 Civic Center Drive Suite 315
San Rafael, CA 94903

Re: Marinwood Village Concept Plan (9/26/06 Agenda)

Dear Board Members:

The Sierra Club Marin Group supports the Marinwood Village Concept Plan for the following reasons:

1. The Plan is consistent with the infill housing and sustainable community goals of the draft Countywide Plan.

2. The Plan provides that 50 percent of the housing units would be for sale or rented at levels affordable to lower and moderate-income households.

3. The Plan calls for adherence to Green Building Principles, including materials and energy use.

4. The Plan specifically provides for pedestrian, bicycle and public transportation connections to the site to reduce greenhouse gas caused by dependence on the automobile.

5. The Plan does not require building on environmentally sensitive lands.

The Marinwood Village Concept Plan, if properly implemented, could provide a model for how to create sustainable communities. The Marin Group believes that process safeguards should be put in place to ensure that the completed project will fulfill the vision of the Concept Plan. Further, the Marin Group believes that the key to fulfilling the goals of the Concept Plan is to strengthen the community-based planning process in a way that will enable the community residents to participate fully in the design process.

Sincerely,

Gordon Bennett, Chair

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING

On Tuesday, September 26th at 6 p.m. in Room 330
(Board of Supervisors Chambers) of the
County Civic Center, The Marin County Board of Supervisors
will meet to hear a presentation of the Marinwood Village
Concept Plan and to vote on a Resolution
prepared by the Marinwood Community Reps.

The Resolution states: (a) that the Marinwood Village
Concept Plan will form a roadmap to guide the project
through the planning, design and construction phases,
(b) that the planning process as it moves forward will continue as a community-based process and (c) that the Board of Supervisors recognizes and endorses the central role the community will continue to play in the planning process for the Marinwood Village project.

You are encouraged to attend the meeting and show your support for both the Concept Plan and the community-based planning process.
This is an important step to achieving the community vision:

1. A full service Market
2. Ancillary retail appropriate to the Community
3. A Plaza/community gathering area
4. A quality mixed use design which creates a project
that is an asset to the community

The Community Reps have been meeting with each
individual Supervisor to educate them about
the Concept Plan and to reinforce the importance
of continuing the community-based planning process.
Our message to the Supervisors is that for the final
project design to be accepted by the community it
must reflect the community vision. And, that the best way
to fulfill the community vision is to encourage and
empower the community to fully participate in the
design phase of the planning process.
To date, we have met with three of the Supervisors.
All three responded very positively to
the Concept Plan and to the importance of continuing
the community-based planning process.