County denied faster ruling on golf course

Marin County’s move to turn the 157-acre San Geronimo Golf Course into a park has hit another roadblock. On August 6, Judge Paul Haakenson denied the county’s request to expedite a decision that could have dissolved a preliminary injunction on the land’s purchase. County officials say that injunction is preventing...

PG&E protocol would cut power across West Marin in extreme weather

During a wildfire, electrical lines make for powerful ignitors. Rather than wait for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection or local firefighters to request a power shutoff once a fire is already raging, PG&E is instituting new protocol to shut off electricity in at-risk areas before fires develop...

Lagunitas tea seller hopes for historic building code

Facing nearly a million dollars in penalties for extensive unpermitted building, tea purveyor and longtime Lagunitas resident David Lee Hoffman has taken a new stand to defend his property. Attorney Peter Prows filed a motion on his behalf in Marin Superior Court this month that argues for the validity of...

County releases final SEIR on development

Court mandates from a lawsuit won by the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network in 2012 have until now barred the county from using the most recent development standards for the San Geronimo Valley—pending an analysis of cumulative development impacts on fish. Last week, after a lengthy delay, the county addressed...

Rental programs nab more funds

Sarah Cane is well aware that it would be far more lucrative to rent her property’s second unit on Airbnb. Instead, she is using the unit to provide affordable housing in Point Reyes Station through the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin’s Real Community Rentals Program. “[CLAM] guided me,...

Farmstand owner purchases Forest Knolls commercial property

The owner of The Farm Stand, a roadside business in Forest Knolls that sources seasonal food goods primarily from Marin, has purchased the nearly half-acre property after five years of leasing, promising more security for the enterprise and three tenants. Owner Jim Baum declined to disclose the sale price but...

Fire ecology needs urgent consideration

Global warming is often cited as the primary cause of the increase in the number and intensity of wildfires occurring in California. Though I am sure that it is a contributing factor, another major contributor is rarely mentioned: 100 years of successful fire suppression that has caused an accumulation of...