Point Reyes Light - November 8, 2001

Donation to state park to be scrutinezed

By Francis Pisani

A public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday , Nov. 13, in Novato to determine if the state wants 91.12 acres at Millerton Point, the owner having offered to donate the land as an addition to Tomales Bay State Park.

The donor, Andrew T. Varlow, will receive a special tax credit proportionate to the site’s value if the state Department of Parks and Recreation decides it wants the land.

Since the department has been steadily purchasing adjoining parcels, the outcome of the hearing seems forgone. The undeveloped land lies uphill from Highway 1.

The donation will be considered under the Natural Heritage Preservation Tax Credit Act of 2000, which is administered by the Wildlife Conservation Board.

At this point an owner’s appraisal is being reviewed by the state, and neither Varlow nor the Department of Parks and Recreation would disclose this week how much he believes the land is worth.

"The aim of the tax credit program is to encourage landowners with fish, wildlife, open space, agricultural and archeological resource value, as well as park and water value, to donate their properties for conservation purposes" explained Heritage program manager Marilyn Cundiff to The Light. The public hearing will be held at State Parks’ Marin District Headquarters in Novato.

In 1996, Varlow sued county supervisors after they rejected his plan to build a 6,296-square-foot house on the site next to the Borello Ranch.

Varlow’s lawsuit called the rejection "arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable." The San Rafael resident at that time told The Light, "I feel I’ve been deprived of my constitutional rights."

The supervisors and environmentalists feared that allowing the house would open the Marshall shore of Tomales Bay to non-agricultural development.

The East Shore Planning Group supported the county’s decision, prompting Varlow’s architect to call the Planning Group "a bunch of neurotic 60s rejects who are paranoid about rich people building big houses in the area."

 

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