{"id":241,"date":"2014-01-14T23:52:54","date_gmt":"2014-01-15T06:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/strawberry94941.org\/?page_id=241"},"modified":"2014-01-14T23:52:54","modified_gmt":"2014-01-15T06:52:54","slug":"an-ongoing-history-of-bruce-corcorans-requests-to-the-bos-to-consider-the-strawberry-pda-issue","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/strawberry94941.org\/?page_id=241","title":{"rendered":"An Ongoing History of Bruce Corcoran’s Requests to the BOS to consider the Strawberry PDA Issue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prepared Remarks Delivered during Open Time for Public Expression at the Marin County Board of Supervisors Hearing on January 14, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m appearing before this Board today for the twelfth consecutive hearing to ask you to please put the removal of Strawberry\u2019s PDA designation on your agenda for consideration and a vote.<\/p>\n

Your refusal to hear us is a selective and unjustified abuse of power.<\/p>\n

Is this what fairness in government looks like?\u00a0 Is this the new normal?<\/p>\n

Given her recent elevation to President of the Board of Supervisors, one person, Kate Sears, has absolute control over an entire community of Strawberry because she not only sets the agenda for our own District 3, but, as President, she now sets the agenda for the entire County.<\/p>\n

Every citizen of Marin should be deeply concerned because if President Sears can single-handedly block the will of the majority of her own constituents in Strawberry, then she now is in a position to single-handedly do the same thing to you and your community.<\/p>\n

President Sears has told us repeatedly that there is no rush to get out of a PDA because a PDA does not change zoning.\u00a0 Her statement is a half-truth.<\/p>\n

PDAs didn\u2019t change zoning; each one of you (Supervisors) did by unanimously approving an amendment which set the default density for Marin to 30 units per acre and imposed Affordable Housing zoning in every pre-existing residential zoning category, with the exception of agricultural areas.<\/p>\n

The net effect is the same: the Strawberry PDA now has 30-unit per acre Affordable Housing zoning which did not exist before, and for tiny Strawberry, that impacts about 40% of our total land area, including the Seminary.<\/p>\n

We are anxious to opt out before a developer announces a new high density project and expects to receive the tax-payer subsidies and incentives to build it, and then sues the County if there is any resistance.<\/p>\n

Inclusion in a PDA comes with an expectation that if we agree to accept tax-payer funded transportation grants, then we agree to accept high density housing projects in return.<\/p>\n

The overwhelming majority of us have indicated that we don\u2019t want any transportation grants with such strings attached.\u00a0 We believe that transportation grants should be based on a priority ranking of need, and not on a system that rewards PDAs with grants, and punishes non-PDAs by withholding them.<\/p>\n

And the overwhelming majority of us oppose new high density housing because Strawberry already has a higher percentage of renter occupied housing units than the 50 % target Plan Bay Area aspires to achieve.\u00a0 Sixty-one percent of Strawberry\u2019s housing stock consists of renter occupied units compared to only 37% for the County as a whole.\u00a0 You can\u2019t achieve the purported goal of sustainable communities when there are far more renters than owners because renters do not pay property taxes or taxes for essential services.<\/p>\n

Residents of Strawberry are rejoicing with our friends in Novato over the recent news that the State has approved a default density of only 20 \u2013 23 units per acre for their city.\u00a0 Nevertheless, we can\u2019t help to see the hypocrisy of Transit Oriented Development.\u00a0 While Novato\u2019s leaders were working hard to lower the default density for the second largest city in Marin, and one that will be served by the Smart Train, President Sears and Supervisor Arnold were content to stick tiny Strawberry with 30-units per acre, even though it never will be served by the Smart Train.<\/p>\n

We are seeking fairness and consistency in government, but you are failing us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prepared Remarks Delivered during Open Time for Public Expression at the Marin County Board of Supervisors Hearing on January 7, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m appearing before this Board today for the eleventh consecutive hearing to ask you to please put the removal of Strawberry\u2019s PDA designation on your agenda for consideration and a vote.<\/p>\n

It is utterly inexcusable that this Board has not held a hearing by now.\u00a0 We have been respectfully pleading with you for six months, but, as we start the New Year, you still have not set a date for a hearing.<\/p>\n

Frankly, I believe your refusal to put the Strawberry PDA on your agenda is an intolerable abuse of power and an obstruction of democracy.\u00a0 It smacks of hubris and tyranny, which will not endure much longer.<\/p>\n

I want to address an audacious comment by outgoing President Judy Arnold at the Board of Supervisors hearing on December 10, 2013 that concerns this Board\u2019s requirement that Strawberry must appear before the TAM (Transportation Authority of Marin) Board, which was not required of any other PDA<\/p>\n

In response to a Strawberry resident\u2019s comments during open time for public expression, Supervisor Arnold said:<\/p>\n

\u201cAs President, let me just respond to one statement that you made that is incorrect.<\/i><\/p>\n

No one<\/i><\/b> has said that this issue (the Strawberry PDA) must be put on the TAM agenda before it can be decided.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Are you kidding?\u00a0 We have your own words on video recordings to refute you!<\/p>\n

At the September 17th<\/sup> hearing, Supervisor Arnold said that \u201cTAM was the place where the discussion (of the Strawberry PDA) belongs, and TAM has the added benefit of bringing the topic to a County-wide agency.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Then, at the October 29th<\/sup> hearing, Supervisor Sears said:<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, on September 17th, our Board Chair, Judy Arnold, announced that she and I would be working with Diane Steinhauser, Transportation Authority of Marin, to agendize an item regarding Strawberry\u2019s status as a PDA<\/b>, which is really where that issue belongs.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

All of us are witnesses to those mis-statements of jurisdiction.\u00a0 Each of you heard them. \u00a0And each of you had an opportunity at those times to show leadership by standing up and saying, \u201cExcuse me, but in my opinion, Strawberry\u2019s PDA status is a matter for the BOS (Board of Supervisors) to decide,\u201d but instead, each one of you chose to sit in silence and let those mis-statements stand.<\/p>\n

Moreover, each one of you had 10 additional opportunities to show leadership during the last 10 consecutive hearings when citizens of Marin and I challenged President Arnold and Supervisor Sears\u2019s position, but once again you chose to sit in silence instead of supporting fairness and equal justice for all.<\/p>\n

If this weren\u2019t enough, as recently as December 5, 2013, an article written by an Independent Journal reporter stated:<\/p>\n

\u201cSouthern Marin Supervisor Kate Sears\u2026repeated her belief that the issue (of the Strawberry PDA) more appropriately belongs before the Transportation Authority of Marin Board.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Supervisor Arnold\u2019s attempt to whitewash history is self-serving and unjustified, and your silence is unbecoming of members of this Board.<\/p>\n

We urge you to put the Strawberry PDA on your agenda right now before you tarnish your good reputations and the integrity of this Board any further.<\/p>\n

Bruce Corcoran<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prepared Remarks Delivered during Open Time for Public Expression at the Marin County Board of Supervisors Hearing on December 10, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m appearing before this Board today for the ninth consecutive hearing to ask you to please put the removal of Strawberry\u2019s PDA designation on your agenda for consideration and a vote.<\/p>\n

At the BOS hearing on October 29th<\/sup>, Supervisor Sears issued what amounted to a policy statement for the Strawberry PDA.\u00a0 She stated that at an earlier BOS hearing held on September 17th<\/sup> that President Arnold announced that she and Supervisor Sears would be working with Diane Steinhauser, who is the Executive Director of the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) to put the Strawberry PDA on TAM\u2019s agenda.\u00a0 Both President Arnold and Supervisor Sears proclaimed that the Strawberry PDA issue should be decided by the TAM Board, rather than by the BOS because it affected grants of transportation funds.<\/p>\n

Strawberry residents have been arguing for months that the Strawberry PDA is a matter for BOS to decide at its sole discretion.<\/p>\n

Last Thursday, December 10th<\/sup>, Strawberry resident Rob Martyn and I attended the TAM hearing to find out for ourselves the answer to the question about which entity had authority over PDAs.<\/p>\n

After delivering our prepared remarks to the TAM Board, which consists of the 5 Supervisors and the 11 mayors, or their alternates, of Marin\u2019s cities and towns, Gary Phillips, who is the mayor of San Rafael, made some very telling comments.<\/p>\n

Qualifying his comments by speaking as the mayor of San Rafael, who had just completed the extensive process of rescinding the Civic Center PDA, including gathering and analyzing voluminous information, holding public workshops and public hearings, and finally gaining the approval of a split City Council, Mayor Phillips said:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. It didn\u2019t even cross his mind that he would have to come to TAM for prior approval to rescind the PDA because the issue of maintaining local control was so paramount to the process, and<\/li>\n
  2. From San Rafael\u2019s experience, coming before the TAM Board was not required.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Mayor Phillips went on to say that:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. He would be very surprised if the Strawberry PDA must come before the TAM Board, and that<\/li>\n
    2. He would be very uncomfortable if it did because he does not want to inject himself into Strawberry\u2019s affairs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      After the meeting, TAM Chairwoman Alice Fredericks approached Rob Martyn and me to tell us that TAM had absolutely no authority to decide the outcome of Strawberry\u2019s PDA.<\/p>\n

      My conversation with Executive Director Steinhauser confirmed the answer to our question.\u00a0 She said the TAM Board has no authority over land use issues such as PDAs.<\/p>\n

      ED Steinhauser also confirmed that the Strawberry PDA still is not on the TAM agenda.\u00a0 Apparently, Supervisor Sears has not been working very hard to put the item on the agenda and to advocate for Strawberry because she was absent from the past two TAM hearings.\u00a0 The last hearing she attended was on September 26th<\/sup>.\u00a0 Supervisor Kinsey and Supervisor Adams were the only Supervisors in attendance at last Thursday\u2019s hearing.<\/p>\n

      All of you are complicit in delaying Strawberry\u2019s choice to opt out of its PDA, because all of you know, that TAM has no authority in this matter, and all of you know, based on a letter from ABAG that the County Board of Supervisors can, at any time, modify or eliminate all or part of the Potential Highway 101 PDA, of which Strawberry is a part.<\/p>\n

      [And all of you know that you don\u2019t have to wait for an arbitrary window set by ABAG to take action, as Supervisor Sears claims, because Marinwood, Tam Valley\/Almonte, Manzanita, and San Rafael Civic Center did not have to wait.\u00a0 We don\u2019t want to wait; we want to opt out now.<\/p>\n

      I\u2019m left with deep concerns about fairness under President Arnold\u2019s leadership.\u00a0 And Supervisor Sears has lost our trust, and I don\u2019t see how she can serve the remainder of her term as an effective and trustworthy leader.<\/p>\n

      All of you have treated my requests with utter disrespect and disdain, and by extension, you have treated the citizens of Strawberry and Marin County with disrespect and disdain because all of you are complicit in allowing President Arnold and Supervisor Sears to make statements that you know are untrue and to set policies that you know are not valid.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      BOS Hearing December 10, 2013.\u00a0 President Arnold\u2019s response to Rob Martyn\u2019s comments about the Strawberry PDA during Open Time for Public Expression.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

      (Video at 00:41:31)<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

      As President, let me just respond to one statement that you made that is incorrect.<\/em><\/p>\n

      No one has said that this issue (the Strawberry PDA) must be put on the TAM agenda before it can be decided.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

      What Supervisor Sears wanted was to get information on the amount of transportation money that would be available to Strawberry if they left or if they stayed in a PDA, which, I understand, (garbled: members of her community were approved of.)<\/em><\/p>\n

      So that\u2019s why she had asked that TAM (garbled: discuss the whole range of transportation funding that is available,) so that a more informed decision could be made.<\/em><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      BOS Hearing on December 10, 2013.\u00a0 Supervisor Sears\u2019s comments about putting the Strawberry PDA on the Transportation Authority of Marin calendar on January 23, 2014 and possibly putting the Strawberry PDA on the BOS agenda sometime in February 2014.\u00a0 (Video at 00:20:05)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

      \u201cI\u2019d like to address folks who have raised issues about the Strawberry PDA and to let you know that the Transportation Authority of Marin, the TAM Board, will agendize an item on its Board calendar on January 23rd<\/sup> (2014), which will be an update of allocations and re-designations of funds for One Bay Area grants in light of changes to the PDAs in Marin County.<\/em><\/p>\n

      TAM is an appropriate place for this conversation about the OBAG funds, and the grants to PDA and the non-PDA areas because decisions that specific jurisdictions make about whether there is a PDA designation or there is not a PDA designation in their jurisdictions affects all of the areas that are members of Transportation Authority of Marin, and it affects the funding decisions that the TAM commissioners make.<\/em><\/p>\n

      So that will be on the TAM Board agenda on January 23rd<\/sup>, and, then, in February we are looking for a day to agendize an item on our Board of Supervisors calendar to specifically consider possible changes to the Strawberry PDA.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

      So keep posted.\u00a0 We will let you know once that date has been identified.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Prepared Remarks Delivered during Open Time for Public Expression at the Marin County<\/strong>
      \nBoard of Supervisors Hearing on December 3, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

      I\u2019m appearing before this Board today for the eighth time to ask you to please put the removal of Strawberry\u2019s PDA designation on your agenda for consideration and a vote.<\/p>\n

      By now, all of you should be embarrassed by your lack of leadership on this issue, but not one of you has stepped up.\u00a0 Instead, you all have been dismissive of us, and your dismissiveness has been pervasive.<\/p>\n

      For instance, on August 22, 2013, I wrote a letter to Matthew Hymel asking him to please explain the rules for putting an item on the BOS agenda, and appealing to him directly to please use his authority as County Administrator to help us because Supervisor Sears was singlehandedly blocking us.<\/p>\n

      Mr. Hymel blew off my request for agenda rules, but on September 11, 2013 he responded to me in total as follows:<\/p>\n

      \u201cI work with the Board President to establish our Board meeting agendas.\u00a0 As you may imagine, there are always many pending items from a variety of sources that are requesting time on our future agendas.\u00a0 Typically, we plan ahead for policy items over a 2 \u2013 3 month period.\u00a0 I will work with President Arnold and Supervisor Sears to consider your request and let you know when a decision has been made.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Well, Mr. Hymel, we already have waited 2 \u2013 3 months and more, and we have not heard from you, so exactly what have you done in the meantime to place Strawberry\u2019s PDA on the agenda.<\/p>\n

      You certainly can\u2019t hide behind the excuse that the Supervisors had more pressing business to attend to, because business was apparently so light that BOS did not have to meet for the past two Tuesdays.\u00a0 So your not that busy; just too busy for Strawberry.<\/p>\n

      But the overarching blame for the stonewalling and inept handling of Strawberry\u2019s PDA lies with each member of this Board because each of you can put the item on the agenda if you want to.<\/p>\n

      It\u2019s one thing to give Supervisor Sears deference for a reasonable amount of time to resolve an issue that involves her District, but when she stubbornly refuses to listen to her constituents and fails to deliver a solution, then the rest of you must act to preserve the integrity of this Board.<\/p>\n

      The Strawberry PDA may have seemed like an insignificant issue to all of you at first, but you have allowed it to mushroom into a bigger one with unexpected and far-reaching political consequences.\u00a0 You have made it a campaign issue.<\/p>\n

      For example, President Arnold will have to account to voters next Spring for:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. her lack of leadership that enabled the Strawberry PDA to fester for so long during her Presidency<\/li>\n
      2. her unfair and inequitable treatment of Strawberry\u2019s PDA compared to other PDAs, and<\/li>\n
      3. her bogus excuse that the Strawberry PDA should be the business of TAM\u2019s Board and not the business of BOS.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        And Supervisor Adams will have to explain to voters next Spring:<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. why she sat silently and showing no leadership when she knew for certain based on the letter from ABAG posted on her Website that \u201cthe County Board of Supervisors can, at any time, modify or eliminate all or part of the Potential Highway 101 PDA.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          After all of this time, the vexing question remains: Who among you is going to show leadership by putting the Strawberry PDA on your agenda where it rightly belongs?\u00a0 How long are you going to block democracy?<\/p>\n

          Bruce Corcoran
          \nMill Valley, CA\u00a0 94941<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Prepared Remarks Delivered during Open Time for Public Expression at the Marin County Board of Supervisors Hearing on November 12, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

          I\u2019m appearing before this Board today for the seventh time to ask you to please put the removal of Strawberry\u2019s PDA designation on your agenda for consideration and a vote.<\/p>\n

          The matter shouldn\u2019t be this difficult:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • It wasn\u2019t this difficult for Marinwood<\/li>\n
          • It wasn\u2019t this difficult for Tam Valley\/Almonte<\/li>\n
          • It wasn\u2019t this difficult for Manzanita<\/li>\n
          • And it wasn\u2019t this difficult for the Civic Center in San Rafael<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            I\u2019ve come to the conclusion that you are not leveling with us; that you have a hidden agenda that you are not sharing with us.\u00a0 What is absolutely clear to me is that you are not representing us.<\/p>\n

            I expect fairness in government.\u00a0 I expect transparency from our leaders.\u00a0 But we are getting neither.<\/p>\n

            When you see an ordinary citizen like me standing before you seven times, then you better take notice, because it\u2019s a sure signal that government is not working, and that political change is in the wind.<\/p>\n

            There are thousands of voters across our County who feel the same way I do.\u00a0 We saw evidence of it in Marinwood last Tuesday on Election Day.\u00a0 More will follow.\u00a0 The question is: Do you<\/span> feel it?<\/p>\n

            When we started our campaign last June to opt out of our PDA, Supervisor Sears asked for more time to canvass her constituents in Strawberry to make sure that they were making the right decision.\u00a0 We complied.\u00a0 We arranged a town hall meeting for her.\u00a0 We arranged several small group meetings for her.\u00a0 We invited her into our homes.\u00a0 We trusted her, but she has betrayed our trust.<\/p>\n

            By the end of August, most of us recognized that Supervisor Sears was not going to support us because the outcome of each meeting was exactly the same:<\/p>\n

            The overwhelming majority of attendees would express their strong preference to opt out of the PDA, but Supervisor Sears was unmoved.<\/p>\n

            Meanwhile, Supervisor Kinsey opined that he would support any community that wanted to opt out of a PDA because participation in a PDA is voluntary.\u00a0 His statement compounded our frustration with Supervisor Sears for refusing to put our PDA on the BOS agenda.<\/p>\n

            Opting out of our PDA is Strawberry\u2019s decision alone, but Supervisor Sears is blocking us out of her personal sense of \u201cthe greater good\u201d for Marin County.\u00a0 The \u201cgreater good theory\u201d may be rational when it is applied consistently and evenly, but Supervisor Sears applies it selectively.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t apply it to Marinwood, Tam Valley, or Manzanita.\u00a0 She has reserved it exclusively for Strawberry.<\/p>\n

            Have you ever considered that letting Strawberry opt out may have a silver lining?\u00a0 It would allow us to funnel transportation dollars into downtown San Rafael and Cal Park, two PDAs that lie on the Smart Train line.\u00a0 If we are going to build the missing link to Larkspur, then those PDAs will need all of the transportation funding they can get.<\/p>\n

            All we are asking for is a vote.\u00a0 I admonish all of you not to stifle democracy by preventing a vote on Strawberry\u2019s PDA.\u00a0 Any of you can put this item on your agenda.<\/p>\n

            Don\u2019t be afraid of holding a vote.\u00a0 The results may surprise you. \u00a0Voting is the ultimate way of establishing fairness and transparency in our system of government.\u00a0 We certainly don\u2019t have fairness and transparency now.<\/p>\n

            Bruce Corcoran
            \nMill Valley, CA\u00a0 94941<\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

            Prepared Remarks Delivered during Open Time for Public Expression at the Marin County Board of Supervisors Hearing on November 5, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

            I\u2019m appearing today for the sixth time to ask this Board to please put on its agenda, for consideration and a vote, the removal of Strawberry\u2019s PDA designation, just as you already have done for Marinwood, Manzanita, and Tam Valley\/Almonte.<\/p>\n

            We are seeking equal treatment and equal justice before this Board, but all we have received so far is stonewalling.<\/p>\n

            At last week\u2019s hearing, we all witnessed an extraordinary event: Supervisor Sears used her authority as a sitting Board member to rebut my comments during open time.<\/p>\n

            Now I had thought that the period for public expression was a time for Supervisors to listen to and learn from their constituents.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know it was a time for public debate.<\/p>\n

            I would be delighted to debate Supervisor Sears on the issues provided that I would have equal time.\u00a0 Under house rules, I have only 3 minutes, but she can hold the floor as long as she wants it.<\/p>\n

            Equally extraordinary was the content of Supervisor Sears\u2019s rebuttal.\u00a0 She informed us that the Strawberry PDA was not a matter for this Board, but more appropriately belonged before the Board of the Transportation Authority of Marin, on a schedule concocted by ABAG and MTC.<\/p>\n

            Unlike other unincorporated areas, Strawberry will just have to wait until TAM gets around to putting the item on its agenda, presumably to either deny or grant us permission to opt out of our PDA.<\/p>\n

            Supervisor Sears\u2019s statements are utter non-sense.\u00a0 If they were true, then why did this Board approve, on its own, the removal of PDAs for Marinwood, Manzanita, and Tam Valley\/Almonte?\u00a0 I can find no record in TAM\u2019s agendas or minutes that TAM voted to approve these actions first.\u00a0 Nor can I find any record that San Rafael needed TAM\u2019s prior approval to rescind the Civic Center PDA.<\/p>\n

            If they were true, then why did ABAG inform each of you in a letter dated July 2, 2013 that the Board of Supervisors could remove a PDA designation at any time?<\/p>\n

            The TAM Board consists of the 5 Supervisors and 11 elected officials from each city or town council in Marin.<\/p>\n

            Why should the mayor of Novato, or Fairfax, or Tiburon have any say about what goes on in Strawberry?\u00a0 Strawberry residents don\u2019t have the authority to tell them what to do in their towns.\u00a0 We don\u2019t vote for them, and they are not accountable to us.<\/p>\n

            You keep telling<\/span> us that we can keep local control, but Supervisor Sears is showing<\/span> us that this is not true.\u00a0 She is not representing the local interests of Strawberry.\u00a0 She is advocating that this Board should relinquish its authority to unaccountable regional agencies.<\/p>\n

            No, Supervisor Sears, issues concerning unincorporated Marin County PDAs most appropriately belong before this Board; not before some unaccountable regional agency.<\/p>\n

            We vote for all of you, and you are accountable to us.\u00a0 We expect you to act on our behalf.<\/p>\n

            Supervisor Sears\u2019s statements and stonewalling are making all of you look foolish.<\/p>\n

            Bruce Corcoran
            \nMill Valley, CA\u00a0 94941
            \nBOS hearing October 29, 2013.\u00a0 Supervisor Sears\u2019s response to Bruce Corcoran\u2019s comments during Open Time for Public Expression regarding the removal of Strawberry\u2019s\u00a0PDA designation at Video time 00:18:27:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

            \u201cMay I respond briefly?<\/em><\/p>\n

            So, on September 17th, our Board Chair, Judy Arnold, announced that she and I would be working with Diane Steinhauser, Transportation Authority of Marin, to agendize an item regarding Strawberry\u2019s status as a PDA, which is really where that issue belongs.<\/em><\/p>\n

            All of us are members of the Transportation Authority of Marin Board.\u00a0 The issue belongs there because it really affects transportation dollars.<\/em><\/p>\n

            In addition to that, it is my understanding that ABAG and MTC are having sort of an open season\u2026beginning January 2014 through June 2015\u2026there will be an open period where communities can consider whether they would like to add themselves into a PDA, and become a PDA, and also consider status of withdrawing from a PDA.<\/em><\/p>\n

            So, the time is coming in the future when that conversation is really most appropriate.\u00a0 And we will be agendizing that item on the Transpotration Authority of Marin Board.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

            Prepared Remarks during Open Time at the Marin County Board of Supervisors hearing on Tuesday, October 22, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

            I am here once again for the fourth time in 5 weeks to ask this Board to please put on its agenda the removal of Strawberry from the unincorporated County PDA.<\/p>\n

            Bear in mind that Strawberry residents submitted in writing their first request for a hearing on this matter prior to the Board of Supervisors hearing on July 9th<\/sup>, which was more than three months ago.<\/p>\n

            The delay is inexcusable and unacceptable.\u00a0 Supervisor Sears\u2019s refusal to support the will of her constituents in Strawberry has become an embarrassment, not only for her, but for each one of you, because it calls into question the legitimacy of this Board to represent the people of Marin County fairly.<\/p>\n

            Strawberry deserves a hearing and a vote, just like the ones Marinwood, Manzanita, and Tam Valley\/Almonte got, because inclusion in a PDA is supposed to be voluntary, and Strawberry wants to opt out.\u00a0 It\u2019s patently unfair for this Board to treat Strawberry differently.<\/p>\n

            Your unfair treatment of Strawberry is endemic of a larger and growing trend in the way this Board conducts business.\u00a0 When citizens of our County present you with issues that you personally don\u2019t agree with, you simply choose to ignore these issues, rather than to debate them openly.<\/p>\n

            For example, when Strawberry residents complained that high density affordable housing does not conform to the Strawberry Community Plan because it states that \u201cdevelopment plans should give the highest priority to incorporating detached single family homes into the plan,\u201d you said, \u201cWe don\u2019t care.\u00a0 We\u2019re just going to ignore that law.\u201d<\/p>\n

            And when we complained that high density affordable housing did not conform to the Seminary Master Plan because the Seminary was not zoned for it, you said, \u201cWe don\u2019t care.\u00a0 We\u2019re just going to ignore that law, too.\u00a0 What\u2019s more, we\u2019re going to overlay and Affordable Housing Combining District on the Seminary\u2019s property to circumvent the normal process of amending the Master Plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

            And so it goes for the Strawberry PDA.\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t care, just ignore it.<\/p>\n

            The problem for you is that choosing to ignore your constituents is not the way a democracy works.<\/p>\n

            We have eyes and ears.\u00a0 When residents of Marinwood felt that their Supervisor was ignoring them, they mounted a recall petition.\u00a0 As a result, they got exactly what they wanted.\u00a0 This Board removed Marinwood from a PDA, and deleted Grady Ranch as an Affordable Housing Combining District.<\/p>\n

            But when residents of Strawberry tried to work with Supervisor Sears, without raising even the threat of a recall when she ignored us, we got no relief.\u00a0 This Board has refused to remove Strawberry from a PDA, and it has imposed an Affordable Housing Combining District on the Seminary over our strong objections.<\/p>\n

            Is a recall the only remaining option for dealing with a Supervisor who continues to ignore us?\u00a0 I certainly hope not.\u00a0 I have resisted calls for a recall, but time, patience, and all other options are running out.<\/p>\n

            Bruce Corcoran
            \nMill Valley, CA\u00a0 94941<\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

            Prepared Remarks for the Board of Supervisors Hearing on October 1, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

            I\u2019m here once again to ask this Board to please put on its agenda the removal of Strawberry from a Priority Development Area.<\/p>\n

            We deserve a hearing and a vote, just like Marinwood and Tam Valley, and now the San Rafael Civic Center, because inclusion in a PDA is supposed to be voluntary, and Strawberry wants to opt-out.<\/p>\n

            We have been very patient with Supervisor Sears.\u00a0 She wanted time to gather facts and opinions by holding small group meetings, and we complied.\u00a0 We also arranged for her a Community Meeting that was attended by over 350 residents.\u00a0 In each case the overwhelming majority of residents indicated that it wanted to opt-out of a PDA, but Supervisor Sears has refused to put the item on the BOS agenda.<\/p>\n

            Consequently, on August 22nd<\/sup>, I wrote a letter delivered via e-mail to County Administrator Matthew Hymel asking for written rules of procedure for putting an item on the BOS agenda, and specifically requesting his assistance as chief administrator to help us put the removal of Strawberry\u2019s PDA status on the calendar for consideration and a vote because Supervisor Sears was blocking us.\u00a0 I received no reply.<\/p>\n

            On September 10th<\/sup>, I wrote a letter delivered via e-mail to each of you complaining that I had not received a reply from Mr. Hymel, and asking each of you to provide written rules of procedure, or at least an explanation, for putting an item on the Board\u2019s agenda.\u00a0 None of you has replied.<\/p>\n

            At the BOS hearing on September 10th, Mr. Hymel approached me privately to tell me that he had not received my original letter.\u00a0 I handed him a copy.<\/p>\n

            On September 11th<\/sup>, Mr. Hymel responded via e-mail in a purposely general and oblique way.\u00a0 He said that he works with President Arnold to set the agendas, but because of the busy calendar, it could take 2 \u2013 3 months to put a new item on the agenda.\u00a0 May I remind all of you that it already has been at least two months since other residents of Strawberry made the first request for a hearing?<\/p>\n

            On that same day, I wrote back to Mr. Hymel via e-mail that his reply was unresponsive because he had not answered my specific and clear questions.\u00a0 I asked him to please answer my questions.\u00a0 Mr. Hymel has not replied.<\/p>\n

            On September 23rd<\/sup>, I wrote a letter delivered via e-mail to the BOS, County Counsel, and Mr. Hymel complaining about Mr. Hymel\u2019s evasive reply, and asking each of you to answer my specific and clear questions, and asking each of you individually to put the removal of Strawberry\u2019s PDA status on the agenda.\u00a0 None of you has replied.<\/p>\n

            And so it seems to go.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBusiness as usual\u201d for officials of Marin County has become as follows: If you don\u2019t like the complaint, or if you don\u2019t want to provide information, then you simply ignore the inquiry.<\/p>\n

            We expect our County administrator to rise above partisan politics, and to treat everyone equally and fairly.\u00a0 My experience shows that those expectations are not happening here.<\/p>\n

            When citizens of this County take the time to write letters to officials, then they deserve the respect and courtesy of a reply.<\/p>\n

            Bruce Corcoran<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Prepared Remarks Delivered during Open Time for Public Expression at the Marin County Board of Supervisors Hearing on January 14, 2014 I\u2019m appearing before this Board today for the twelfth consecutive hearing to ask you to please put the removal … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/strawberry94941.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/241"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/strawberry94941.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/strawberry94941.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/strawberry94941.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/strawberry94941.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=241"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/strawberry94941.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":243,"href":"http:\/\/strawberry94941.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/241\/revisions\/243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/strawberry94941.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}