A conceptual design for expanding West Marin’s Health and Human Services building won the approval of county supervisors this week, over protests from Point Reyes Station residents. The project, projected to cost at least $2.9 million, will add about 2,000 square feet to the 3,175 square foot building. The extra space will alleviate disability access and patient privacy issues, according to the Health and Human Services Department.
In response to community concerns, the size was reduced from the roughly 3,000 square feet addition originally planned, and the entrance relocated to 6th Street, farther from nearby homes. Still, during a public hearing on Tuesday speakers said it didn’t comport with the town’s community plan, which calls for construction to be in line with the area’s small scale and character. “This proposal is inacceptable,” said Pamela Bridges, who has lived next to the building for 31 years.
Speakers also expressed concerns about parking, as the new plan eliminates three or four current off-street parking spaces and relies on street parking. But the site’s manager, Paula Glodowski, said most patients and visitors come by bike or bus, and the architect, Michael Ross, argued that this arrangement is typical of commercial development. “We can make the site work and not build [elsewhere] by using on-street parking,” he said.
The department said that other possible sites, such as a county owned lot on Mesa Road, would be much more expensive to develop and would eliminate green space. Supervisor Steve Kinsey said he supports the project, calling 2,000 square feet a modest amount in the grand scheme of things. Without the site—which is the last remaining satellite office for the department—people would have to travel over the hill to receive the many public services offered, such as economic assistance, child protective services, and WIC.