County planning commissioners unanimously approved a precise development plan for French Ranch subdivision last week - to the chagrin of many of San Geronimo Valley residents.

Yet the subdivision will also bring hard-won benefits to the community, including a biological wastewater-treatment facility for Lagunitas School District, below-market housing for families and seniors, the dedication of 467 acres to open space, and a site reserved for an equestrian center.

Designed largely through negotiations between the developer, community organizations, and county planning staff, the project was praised by commissioners as a paragon of compromise.

"This development will, to the greatest extent possible, preserve the rural nature of the San Geronimo Valley under the rules we are playing," said Commissioner Ross Herbertson before casting his vote.

Commissioners approved the project in two hours on Friday afternoon after listening to more than three hours of public testimony Monday. Those testifying were evenly divided between French Ranch opponents and advocates.

Though their purview was narrowly focused on the project's consistency with its masterplan, which was approved by county supervisors in 1995, commissioners also considered issues raised during public testimony.

The issues of greatest concern involved the ability of the designated equestrian-center site to support a viable operation, the visual impact of nine houses in a tightly clustered building area, and the legality of the agreement between developers and the school district to share the wastewater system.

The equestrian site had twice been relocated during earlier negotiations to avoid building on environmentally sensitive locations. After a smaller version was designed to fit in its original site, planning staff recommended further reducing its size to prevent construction on serpentine rock or a nearby seep.

Equestrians complained these environmental constraints and the reduced size would make the site impractical and unattractive to potential developers. Commissioners agreed.

"I'm very concerned we don't have any turnout or pasture areas for the horses," said Commissioner Deborah Rowland. "I'm trying to think of the practical aspects of this [staff-recommended] site plan, and I'm not getting it."

Commissioners finally approved a plan that allows construction to encroach on a stream setback on the east side of the property, thereby providing enough space for a 175-by-75-foot riding arena on the west side.

The arena was moved slightly toward Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, which borders the property, to prevent any encroachment on the seep setback.

The commission also permitted parking on the access road to provide more space inside the facility for horses, and it required housing for a ranch manager on the site.

Equestrians said they were pleased with the changes but added they would have preferred a less-constrained site altogether.

"This seems to be what we've got, and we want to make the best of it," said Frank Binney, vice-president of the San Geronimo Horseman's Association.

Commissioners were less responsive to neighbors' complaints that nine houses, including seven small, very low-income homes, would be clustered in a building area just east of Forest Knolls.

"Most of [the neighbors'] houses are fenced or heavily screened," said Commissioner Jan Alff Weigel. "Still, that's a lot of development for the area."

To provide some immediate visual relief, commissioners allowed planting of non-native, faster-growing species for screening, such as poplars.

And to assure the propriety of the agreement between the developers and the school district, commissioners insisted the contract receive approval from county counsel and the director of the Community Development Agency.

Their approval of the wastewater system will provide relief for Lagunitas School District, which needs new facilities and had lobbied for the pond-based system as the most environmental, economical option.

The system also allows tighter clustering of 33 homes in the new subdivision instead of spacing them out to provide room for septic leach fields.

Despite the community benefits, however, many residents of the San Geronimo Valley still have mixed feelings towards the development.

Debra Dadd-Redalia of Forest Knolls said French Ranch subdivision will violate the Valley's communitywide plan by destroying the area's character with what she regards as "speculative development" of cookie-cutter homes.

"There is nothing rural about a subdivision," she said. "I don't understand why it is so important to reward the 'cooperative process' when it seems it is only to cooperate with the developer at the expense of losing the cohesion of the community."

But the chairman of the San Geronimo Valley Planning Group, Bill Noble, said the group negotiated the best it could for a subdivision that matched the Valley's character and met its needs.

"I think it's a community triumph," he said, noting that no one will enjoy watching contractors build 33 houses where empty hillsides now stand. "It's not a legacy anyone wanted for the community, but it's part of the answer of how you do the least damage and get the greatest benefit."

The project's developer, Bruce Burman, "I'm grateful for the hard work and dedication of all the community groups in the shaping of this project," he said.

Though some regard such praise as evidence of betrayal, the head of the Planning Group's French Ranch Committee, Richard Gray, told members they got everything they could through compromise.

"A choice has been made here," he said. "Some are happy with it; some are not."