›› UPFRONT
Mill Valley gets streetwise New Miller Avenue plan more precise—in all the right ways by Peter Seidman
W
hen the Mill Valley City Council unanimously approved a plan to implement major improvements to Miller Avenue, councilmembers put a temporary cap on a controversy that has simmered—and sometimes boiled—for decades. The approval of the Miller Avenue Streetscape Plan has met widespread acceptance in the community, but that cap on the controversy could blow when the city tackles its general plan and housing element updates, a process that will begin soon. The unanimous approval of the plan came about after a virtual revolt by residents a few years ago sunk the Miller Avenue Precise Plan. The city touched a third rail when it tried to proceed with a grand vision that included everything from overhauling the street to altering zoning to encourage mixeduse development and affordable housing. City Councilman Andy Berman has served on the council since 2005, and before that he was on the city’s planning commission. People had long talked about what to do with Miller, notes Berman. The central idea focused on bringing Miller, an old railroad route, into some semblance of modernity. “Back in the 1960s and 1970s, when they started to look at design,” says Berman, “the only people who rode bikes were people under the age of 12. Now people ride bikes and they walk.” Just that change in transpor-
tation made the old vision anachronistic. The Streetscape Plan transforms Miller into a modern arterial that supports multimodal transportation and “smart” development along a transportation corridor. It covers an overhaul of Miller from Sunnyside Avenue in downtown all the way to Almonte Boulevard, near Tamalpais High School. It calls for bike lanes 5- to 6-feet wide and a buffer space between bike lanes and traffic. The plan also envisions wider sidewalks and upgraded crosswalks that will make walking more enjoyable and safer. The plan calls for relocated bus stops to make using public transit easier as well as landscaping along the street and a dedication to preserving the views cherished in the community. The plan is a broad outline, a master plan, and the city must hammer out many of the details—and cost estimates—as design and engineering studies get under way for the five sections of Miller that the plan envisions. The city will embark on the project in phases. Various estimates about the cost of the improvements along the approximately two-mile stretch are floating around, ranging from around $12 million to around $18 million. Part of the cost, about $9 million, will come from funds generated by Measure A, the half-cent sales tax measure Marin voters approved in 2004. The city will look for other funding sources as it proceeds with the plan. Considering the high decibel level 10 >
›› NEWSGRAMS
by Jason Walsh
Good Earth goes native When Good Earth Natural Foods broke ground on its new location it never dreamed it was breaking American Indian burial ground. Good Earth’s new location at 720 Center Boulevard in Fairfax was recently identified as a potential “prehistoric archaeological site,” according to spokespersons for the popular health food store. According to Good Earth officials, as work on the project got under way in June at the site of the defunct Albertsons building, workers discovered midden and shell fragments in the utility trenches dug inside the building. Midden is dark-colored soil containing waste products associated with past human occupation and can contain archaeological material such as shells, animal bones and charcoal. Then in July, four fragments of bone recovered during soil tests were identified as human: a nickel-sized fragment of a human cranium, a long bone fragment and two other small fragments. No articulated or complete skeletons have been found. After the findings were identified, the county sheriff-coroner was notified, as were the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria who are, according to the state Native American Heritage Commission, the “most likely descendants” of the site’s native occupants. According to Graton Rancheria protocol, human remains, if found, should not be photographed but can be drawn, and any remains found will be reburied by Graton Rancheria somewhere on site—in a place determined by the tribe—that will remain undisturbed. Town officials and building owner Fairfax Center Properties, along with Good Earth, its project managers and the Graton Rancheria tribe, have developed a “mitigation and monitoring” plan to monitor any impacts on the site caused by the current reconstruction of the building. Archaeological consulting firm Pacific Legacy will be on site monitoring, as well. The Albertsons store, originally a Lucky’s, was built in 1959 and project coordinators believe the native site to have been damaged over decades of development. In most of the trenches, for instance, the midden is mixed with concrete, sand and gravel most likely deposited during the building’s original construction. While only a small portion of the site is visible, say officials from Good Earth, it’s most likely remnants of a larger shellmound, which were common along the bay shore and interior drainages as habitation and food processing sites. Due to slow-downs associated with such findings, Good Earth is pushing backs its plans to open the new store to January 2012. Cheating IRS, not so EZ... For those who think a little fudging on their income taxes every year is no big deal, try asking San Rafael resident Jack Aaron Nissim. He was sentenced 10
8 PACIFIC SUN AUGUST 5 - AUGUST 11, 2011
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