It’s been nearly 15 years since Marin County first asked David Lee Hoffman, a Lagunitas tea purveyor, to raze the innovative Tibetan-inspired structures on his two-acre experiment in sustainable living and design, which he calls the Last Resort.
The Marin Superior Court judge newly assigned to the case—the fourth to take it on—wants to bring the saga to a close. At a hearing last month, he urged Mr. Hoffman, his attorney, the county, and a court-appointed receiver to resolve the case expeditiously—once and for all.
“I want to be reasonable, but we’re not going to go another year while we talk about this,” Judge Stephen Freccero said.
It has been nearly five years since the previous judge in the case, Paul Haakenson, ordered Mr. Hoffman to vacate the property and the receiver, Eric Beatty, to oversee its sale. And it has been nearly a year and a half since Mr. Beatty informed the court that the Buckminster Fuller Institute, a flush San Francisco nonprofit, was interested in purchasing and preserving the site as a sort of living museum.
The institute was founded to carry on the legacy of R. Buckminster Fuller, a visionary archi-tect, designer, inventor and philosopher who, among other things, popularized the geodesic dome. The Last Resort embodies the institute’s goal of inspiring “audacious design initiatives.” Yet no direct conversations have taken place between the county and the institute.
Mr. Hoffman’s attorney, Ann Draper, told the court that, before making a concrete offer, the institute needs more financial information from the receiver about his fees and the debts and fines accrued on the property. She also said the institute needs the county to provide more information about what would be required to bring the property into compliance.
But Jacy Dardine, Marin’s deputy counsel, said it was incumbent on any potential buyer to come up with a plan for bringing it up to code. County staff will then decide if it’s up to snuff.
Judge Haakenson’s 2021 order remains in force, and Judge Freccero said he would be compelled to implement it if the parties can’t soon come up with a plan that would save what Mr. Hoffman and his supporters regard as an architectural and environmental gem.
With its one-of-a-kind, handcrafted structures, the Last Resort has earned a place in the National Register of Historic Places. The more than 30 buildings on the compound—none of them properly permitted by the county—are made from recycled and natural materials such as stone, bamboo, wood and earth. The site is built as an integrated ecological experiment that incorporates bio-filtered graywater systems, worm composting and organic food production.
Mr. Hoffman briefly attended San Jose State University, where he intended to study physics and engineering but never received a degree. He spent more time working on his hot rod—a ’32 Ford Roadster—than he did on his coursework. He headed off to Asia in 1964 to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War and took inspiration from his travels in India and Nepal.
Toward the end of last month’s hearing, Judge Freccero instructed Mr. Beatty to present some rough cost estimates—both for bringing the property up to code and for razing it. He also encouraged the Buckminster Fuller Institute to meet with county officials and come up with a concrete proposal for bringing the property into compliance.
He scheduled another hearing on March 20. “The court’s got a tough decision,” he said. “I recognize there’s a lot of community members that are interested. I also recognize that serious environmental and structural issues must be dealt with and not be minimized. And there’s also an important policy of this court vindicating prior orders.”