San Francisco clothing-store owner Jeremy Kidson,
who lives in Berkeley, is fighting an uphill battle to build a house
on a thin slice of land he owns along a bluff off Ocean Parkway in Bolinas.
Kidson has now filed his second appeal – this
time to the Marin County board of supervisors – calling into question
the land’s zoning. The current zoning restricts residential development
on the land.
His first appeal was heard by the county planning
commission on Oct. 10. At that hearing, planning officials presented
a report that the area is legally considered "open space,"
citing a 1927 map as evidence. The commission was unanimous in its agreement
to deny the appeal, and planning officials told The Light that
the board of supervisors will likely hear the latest appeal within the
next six weeks.
Zoned as "open space"
Upon purchasing the property over a year ago to build
a house, Kidson applied for a "certificate of compliance"
from the county prepared by county staff. The certificate determined
that the area is legally zoned "open space" in congruence
with the map and therefore not eligible for development by Kidson.
Kidson’s appeal of the certificate claims that
determination is incorrect. Hussein Saffouri, his attorney, said there
is no evidence that the property was ever legally designated "open
space." He also pointed to a dotted line on a 1927 map which would
imply that, even if it were designated parkland, it is only to the landward
side of the dotted line and not on the area where Kidson intends to
build a house.
Commissioner Don Dickinson pointed out that the words
"edge of bluff" with an arrow pointing to the dotted line
which appears on the 1927 map would seem to imply that the line’s
only purpose is to indicate the edge of a bluff.
Rebuffed by bluff
Zoning is not the only hurdle Kidson faces in his
bid to build a house on the property he owns in Bolinas. The Bolinas
Gridded Mesa Plan sets forth as policy: "There shall be no residential
development or substantial construction near the bluff." The plan
has been endorsed by the county board of supervisors, planning commission,
and California Coastal Alliance.
Water is another issue. There is no water meter on
the property, and it is unlikely Kidson would be able to attain one.
A moratorium on new connections to the town’s water supply has
been in place since 1971. It is unclear how he would bypass these restrictions
in the unlikely event he does get his property re-zoned.
Bolinas residents showed up in large numbers at the
planning commission meeting to help discourage the appeal, often clapping
for each other as they publicly voiced their concerns.
Resident Meg Simmons described the appeal as "an
earnest, but feeble attempt to build a house on sinking, eroding land."
Hillary Winslow, also from Bolinas, agreed. "Let’s
put an end to Mr. Kidson’s fantasy that this area is appropriate
for residential development," she said.
"If it wasn’t open area, the price would
have gone for quite a lot higher," pointed out Bob Hunter of Bolinas
about Kidson’s property.
If the board of supervisors deny Kidson’s latest
appeal, he could take it to the courts.