A consortium of environmental groups in Marin has begun to lobby the local governments about how land use decisions will be made in the future. “Community Marin 2013” calls for the county, city and town councils to place a maximum size on new homes, limit development to areas already developed and ban additional big box retail stores.
The coalition is comprised of the Marin Conservation League, Marin Audubon Society, Marin Bayland Advocates, the Marin Group-Sierra Club, Salmon Protection and Watershed Network and Environmental Action Committee. The report, the latest edition of a series that’s included versions published in 1991, 1998 and 2003, focuses a bright light on the problem of climate change and rising sea levels.
Essentially, the 48-page document calls upon local planners to put the environment at the forefront of land use and development decisions.
The environment has always been a major factor in how Marin County has been shaped, and the courageous leadership of the environmental community has been instrumental in keeping development in check. It hasn’t always been pretty to watch and, at times, the balance between keeping things green and allowing enough development to keep the economy running on all cylinders has broken down into a paralyzing struggle between perfect and the good.
It will be interesting to see how this latest report is received in places like San Rafael, Novato and especially at the county offices. Coming off the Grady Ranch debacle, the county has adopted an unofficial position of including an economic impact report on all commercial development projects. Moreover, it just ponied up a $150,000 grant to help the Marin Economic Forum’s continued operation. Look for the forum to become a go-to economic resource for the county.
San Rafael biz district on ’roids
The San Rafael City Council told more than 600 businesses in the Mission City that enlarging the Business Improvement District is a good idea. Funding for the district will rise from less than $20,000 per year to $100,000 per year, with dues being paid at the beginning of 2014.
The district, which is charged with driving interest and focus to downtown businesses, used to receive funding from the city’s redevelopment agency. But when Governor Jerry Brown eliminated development agencies last year, the dollars vanished.
Some businesses that were previously not included in the district expressed reservations about participating and paying for services not specified by the city council. But the city said the enlarged district deserved a chance to show what it could do and set a one-year review for the issue.
The city also recently revealed that a majority of city residents polled support a renewal of a sales tax measure as well as an increase, and such a measure could be on the November ballot.
After shelling out better than $90,000 to a pair of consulting firms to find out how residents viewed a renewal of a 2005 sales tax bump of one-half cent and increasing it another quarter cent, the city said Godbe Research reports that 29 percent say they support continuing the tax and increasing it, while 25 percent say they’d probably get behind it.
City Councilwoman Barbara Heller told the Marin IJ the city needs the cash. “It would take such a huge chunk out of our budget [if it didn’t pass]. Indeed we’d see more layoffs and cutting back on this, that and the other.”
Layoffs would hurt, no doubt, but it’s the cutting back of this, that or the other that would really send people into the streets.
On the road again…
A study by the city of Novato shows that its residents are spending $169 million per year in other places, and that the city is missing out on the potential sales tax revenues from those sales. Novotonians are spending $37 million per year on home furnishings and appliances, $35 million on building and garden supplies and $34 million on cars and parts, all outside the town limits.
Chris Stewart, Novato’s economic development manager, hopes to use the numbers in the report to attract retailers to Novato who could help get residents thinking globally but buying locally and slow the sales tax leakage.
The “City of Novato 2013 Retail Market Analysis” showed respondents said Novato could use a Gap, a Macy’s and a Banana Republic as well as Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn and Ikea.
Your Marin moment
While companies like BioMarin and Raptor Pharmaceuticals create important drugs for the treatment of rare diseases, Straus Creamery is pitching in with its own take on making folks healthier. The company has become well known for its organic dairy products. Now it’s introduced the first ice cream product aimed at providing energy and nutrients to people on the go.
“NuScoop is all organic, complete nutrition in a frozen dairy dessert—it’s like an energy bar for ice cream lovers. NuScoop was conceived to add enhanced health benefits in an ice cream cup,” according to a statement by Straus.
The new product was developed with the founders of Earth’s Best Baby Food, Ron and Arnie Koss, who said, “Uniting the rich flavors of ice cream with a desirable health profile is a ‘dream come true’ food for millions of health-conscious ice cream lovers, who no longer have to wrestle with the guilt of indulgence. Finally, ice cream goes healthy!”
Besides providing about 10 percent of the recommended calorie count in a 2,000 calorie diet, the 4-ounce bars have 12 percent of the daily protein recommendation and 25 vitamins and nutrients, some as high as 33 percent of the daily recommendation. The bars are organic and kosher and come in coffee, strawberry and Dutch chocolate.
NuScoop can be scooped up in Marin at Mollie Stone’s, Andronico’s, Scotty’s in Terra Linda and Paradise Foods in Novato. It can also be had in Sonoma and Napa at Whole Foods and in St. Helena at Sunshine Market.
Science marches on.
