›› UPFRONT
Anyone for a game of Agenda 21? Regional planning a sinister plot to Soviet-ize Marin, say Tea Partiers by Pe te r Se i d m an
W
hen two regional planning agencies earlier this year made the Bay Area rounds to hold a series of workshops about Plan Bay Area, the sustainable communities proposal, a group of virulent opponents also made the rounds. Rather than promoting rational discussions, their aggressive and strident strategy, meant to disrupt the meetings, succeeded in spreading misinformation and echoed a Tea Party conspiracy theory that has become increasingly hostile. The workshops were aimed at how the Bay Area can meet the mandates of AB 32, legislation that calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and a subsequent piece of legislation, SB 375, that for the first time created true regional planning, a goal long sought by serious planners. SB 375, which took effect in 2009, seeks to promote the Sustainable Communities Strategy planning paradigm. The aim is to persuade cities and counties to consider climate change and the impacts of regional planning—with a particular emphasis on reducing vehicular travel—when making planning decisions. In addition to reducing vehicle emissions, the strategy seeks to encourage smart growth, which can foster transit-oriented development and nonmotorized transportation. The Association of Bay Area Govern-
ments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), in partnership with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, are collaborating to produce the comprehensive plan that integrates land use with transportation. Shouting at the workshops prevented attendees who wanted to learn about Plan Bay Area from getting the facts. Opponents were in no mood to discuss details. They were there to disrupt. And they were organized. Opposition increased as projections of the number of jobs that will be created in the Bay Area and the number of households cities and counties will have to add for the people who take those jobs became public. A preliminary estimate was criticized in Marin and elsewhere by those who said the number of projected jobs was much too high, that the number of households Marin and its cities would be expected to accommodate was unrealistic. A review refined those preliminary projections. But critics have continued to charge that ABAG (the recipient of the most clubbing) still is foisting an unfair burden on Marin; they say the numbers speak for themselves. But a look at the percentage of the increases Plan Bay Area projects for Marin shows that the numbers do not deserve 10 >
›› NEWSGRAMS
by Jason Walsh
Anyone want a historic lumber company? The Mill Valley Lumber Co. is looking to hand over its circular saw to an eager buyer, as the Cerri family, which has owned the 120-year-old business since the late 1990s, says the mill isn’t financially cutting it. The lumber mill, located at 129 Miller Avenue near the downtown, has struggled as a business since the economy tanked in 2008. The Cerris say they’re tentatively planning to keep the saws buzzing through the end of the year, but if a buyer doesn’t step forward, they may simply have to close up shop and let the wood chips fall where they may. The lumber company had its genesis in 1889 when the Northwestern Pacific Railroad built a line from its Tam Junction stop deep into the valley at the base of Mount Tamalpais. The railroad ambled down the center of Miller Avenue and over Corte Madera Creek and terminated at what is now the downtown plaza. It was along this last stretch of track that Mill Valley pioneer and shipping magnate Robert Dollar had settled in the 1850s. In 1892, Dollar took a look at the building boom around him and promptly converted his parcel of land into a lumberyard. In 1912 it merged with Doherty’s Lumber Yard, a rival just a half block up the railroad tracks, to become the Mill Valley Lumber Company. Anyone interested in purchasing a lumber company should call 415/388-3532 or check out www.millvalleylumber.com. San Rafael unveils vision for Civic Center Station area As the SMART train project rolls ahead, those little pufferbellies are going to need somewhere to stop—which is why the Marin County Board of Supervisors this week is reviewing the Civic Center Station Area Plan—a “draft for public view” of a vision for what is expected to be one of the busier neighborhoods along the SMART line. Presented by city staff and prepared by San Francisco design groups Fehr & Peers and BMS, the plan is “a community vision for the area around the future Civic Center SMART station in North San Rafael” and builds on previous planning efforts to “set out a conceptual framework for development and circulation improvements in the area.” The plan is purely in the “conceptual” phase; environmental analysis would ostensibly take place after further details are worked out. Passenger service along the 70-mile rail corridor will extend in its initial phase from Santa Rosa to downtown San Rafael. In all, there are plans for 14 rail stations, nine in Sonoma and five in Marin. According to the draft, the Civic Center station will be located beneath Highway 101, just north of the Marin County Civic Center and fairgrounds. Weekday service will include 15 southbound and 15 northbound trains per day; four and four on the weekends. During peak commute times, two trains will operate per hour in each direction. The Civic Center station’s EIR ridership numbers by 2015 are forecast at 468 daily boardings, with about 100 occurring during the morning peak hour. The report finds that, overall, connectivity to the area is difficult due to Highway 101 and the rail corridor dividing the area, and several “large land uses” that present barriers to pedestrian movement—particularly Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Guide Dogs for the Blind, the Northgate Mall, as well as various large office complexes. “Despite the automobile-orientation of the area,” the report continues,“there are many office and residential areas within a reasonable walk of the station. The Marin County Civic Center offers the largest ridership opportunity, while Autodesk, Sutter Terra Linda Urgent Care, Northgate Mall, Kaiser Hospital and other nearby offices, banks, retail and resi10 >
8 PACIFIC SUN JUNE 15 - JUNE 21, 2012