Tourism, traffic, and the shortage of low-cost housing are the main issues vexing Point Reyes Station, said many of the 100 area residents who on Saturday braved the first storm of the season to help plan the future of Point Reyes Station.
The meeting at the Red Barn marked the start of a revision to the Point Reyes Station Community Plan, the document that guides county planners and supervisors in ruling on issues in town. The plan was last updated in 1986.
People tossed around ideas for restoring the decrepit Grandi Building, the biggest and emptiest storefront in town. A youth-recreation center was suggested for the brick structure, as were moderately priced apartments and a hotel.
Those attending were divided into small groups and asked to forecast the future of Point Reyes Station if the town stayed on its present course. They were also asked to make a list of what the town needs, and how those needs could be met.
"We have a lot of youth, and they ought to be able to do something other than skateboard between the Taqueria and Cabaline [Saddle Shop]," said Russell Ridge of Inverness Park, who also suggested the town needs more bike paths.
In another group, Jane Silvia of Point Reyes Station said she'd like to see stronger restrictions on noise. "It's constant power tools, lawn mowers, [and] chainsaws," she said.
"What about dogs?" she was asked.
"Yes, dogs too," Silvia said, with a laugh.
Bradley said he would oppose a downtown sewer system and favor restrictions on water use and road improvements. "There's too much to lose here."
Moments later, in another group's discussion, Inverness Realtor Cecil Asman said some growth is needed to accommodate more housing, and said the town should seriously consider a downtown sewer. "Whether we like it or not, we are in denial about our septic system problems," he said.
Across the room, Point Reyes Station's Bob Montgomery said zoning should be loosened to allow expansion of the local economy, "so people can live in this town and not be subject to parttime, minimum-wage jobs."
Inverness Park's Madeleine Blake said she wants Waldo Giacomini's ranch kept mostly off-limits to tourists after the Park Service buys it and restores it to wetlands.
"Wildlife doesn't always need a viewer," she said. "Sometimes wildlife needs to be left alone."
Acknowledging that her remark was somewhat "arrogant," she also offered that maybe local residents should have greater access to the Point Reyes National Seashore than tourists.
That theme was echoed in other groups. "We need to find a way of talking to the Hispanic community and listening to them," said Father Joe Bravo, minister of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Olema. "They're going to get left out if we don't do that."
Jan Watson of Point Reyes Station complained about the seemingly haphazard approval of new home designs. "It's really hard to look at these things, and they've been approved," she said.
Point Reyes Station photographer Art Rogers said he thinks traffic is allowed to speed too fast through town. He also worried that downtown is being taken over by outsiders. "It used to be local," he said. Now, "it's not local enough."
Historian Dewey Livingston said his group wanted to avoid the "Mendocino-ization of Point Reyes Station... How much is going to be our town, and how much is going to be for the tourists?"
Added Inverness innkeeper Mary Davies, "If we go on the way we are now, in 20 years we'll be a population of rich, white, transient people."
One group was more content. "I got a feeling people are pretty satisfied with what we have now," said Marshall Livingston of Inverness.
One group leader, however, forwarded a suggestion that West Marin secede from Marin County, form a new county, close down all roads coming into Point Reyes Station, and put up gates at the entrances.
Reflecting upon the workshop, organizer Claire Peaslee said on Monday, "I thought it was a big success. I sensed people were having a good time thinking together, and that's what I had hoped for."
For her part, Peaslee sees the town's attitude toward tourism as the key issue.
"You can't barricade an island against the rising tide," she said. "You have to love the island and take care of it [to the point where] a storm can happen and it's still your island. You create a strong and persistent island that can accommodate a [continuous] stream of people."
A smaller plan-update committee meeting will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26, at the firehouse.
Ideas and information generated at the Saturday's workshop will be summarized and evaluated, and the next steps in the work plan will be discussed.
The Point Reyes Station Plan Update Committee, a local group that has spearheaded this effort to date, is open to everyone who may wish to learn more or become an active participant.