Members of the San Geronimo Valley's two - sometimes opposing - planning associations said Thursday from here on out they will work together on updating the Valley's community plan.
At a workshop last week, members of the Property Owners Association and Planning Group agreed to together meet with county staff about the plan before it goes to county planning commissioners early next year.
The plan, which hasn't been updated for 20 years, is intended to guide county decisions about the Valley. Urged on by county planners, about 50 people at Thursday's workshop decided to forge ahead with the current draft plan pending some minor revisions.
Planner Kim Hansen agreed the county could do a better job of counting Valley residents, after several in attendance said the 1990 federal census data wrongly counted the Valley population at 3,345. The number is about 1,000 short, residents said.
They suggested a a better number might take into account the number of post office boxes in all four valley villages (about 2,200), K-8 primary school students (436), and registered voters (2,462).
Although briefly mentioned at the workshop, setting size limits on buildings was deemed beyond the discussion. The issue was so controversial, some said, that it could delay the plan's approval for months.
By a show of hands, people attending the workshop also rejected reducing the boundaries of area included in the community plan.
"Many parts adjoining our properties are wildlands," said Willis Evans of San Geronimo. "But we should still understand their relationship to the Valley."
Some also suggested changing the wording for ridgeline construction. But property owners on the ridge said the Valley's rim is sometimes the only suitable place to build.
"In a regulatory sense, there is an intent [to prevent ridgeline building] but the plan allows for peculiarities of physical circumstances," said Community Development Agency Director Mark Riesenfeld. He noted the countywide plan already restricts building within 300 feet of a ridge.
Other items people discussed at the workshop were: