Is San Anselmo About to Lose One of Its Scenic Hillsides?

On December 3rd the Marin County Board of Supervisors will decide the fate of an eleven-acre property that has been the subject of an intense forty-one-year-long preservation effort.  The property, a grassy hillside dotted with oaks and madrones adjacent to San Anselmo’s Sorich Ranch Park, was targeted to be preserved as open space by San Anselmo’s General Plan, the County’s Countywide Plan, and the Master Plan for Sorich Ranch Park.  It was originally proposed for a large condominium development in 1972, and a neighborhood group, Sorich Park Area residents, or SPAR, quickly formed to oppose the project and to try to acquire the land to be added to Sorich Ranch Park.  In 1992 their efforts were successful and the developer offered to sell the land.  Jerry Draper, one of the officers of SPAR, instead of allowing SPAR or the Town to purchase the land, bought it himself and built a house and barn on part of the land, promising to keep the remainder as open space.  In 2002, however, Draper began trying to develop it himself.  SPAR, working with Hal Brown and other County and Town officials, offered to buy the land at its appraised value, but the offer was refused and all attempts at negotiation were rebuffed.  Draper formed a company, Karuna Development LLC, and submitted plans to build twelve large homes covering the hillside.  Community opposition was very strong, and SPAR grew to over 1,300 members.  Draper’s plans were rejected by County Planning and resubmitted nine times over the next ten years.  In spite of these rejections, Draper insisted his proposal go to the Board of Supervisors, and in 2009 they voted unanimously to deny it, citing scores of violations of county codes.

Draper then filed suit against the County, accusing Hal Brown of improper behavior.  Astonishingly, in 2012 the County agreed to a settlement that would allow Draper to submit another proposal, this time agreeing to “fast-track” the review process, waiving in advance environmental protections and road standards and bypassing the Planning Commission entirely.  Draper submitted a proposal for six identical three-story houses abutting directly on the park and the Town’s Corporation Yard.  The Planning Department duly gave it a rubber-stamp approval, saying the project created no environmental or visual impact and not even requiring the normal photo-simulations so neighbors could see what the project would look like.  Supervisor Katie Rice organized a workshop on the project before the Planning Commission in October.  All seven commissioners decried the project, saying it looked “like military barracks” and “just plain butt-ugly.”  They criticized the County Counsel for agreeing to the settlement and rebuked Planning staff for saying the project involved no visual impact and for not requiring photo-simulations.  The Commission is forbidden by the settlement from voting on the project, but they are drafting a letter to the Supervisors recommending a focused environmental review, photo-simulations and a design change.  The Board of Supervisors will make a final decision on the project on December 3rd.  If you care about preserving this scenic hillside, please call or write Supervisor Katie Rice at 473-7331, 3501 Civic Center Drive, Room 329, San Rafael, CA 94903, and urge her to vote against the Karuna project.