As I write this, the rain is pounding Marin, the wind is blowing a bit and the temp has yet to hit 50 degrees. I mention this because the Northgate Mall is the only shopping center in the county where shoppers are not getting drenched in the atmospheric river or stormageddon as my friends on TV are hyping it.
But Northgate, and more to the point its owners Merlone Geir Partners, want out of the retail biz and have plans to redevelop the mall into 45-acres of mixed use with an emphasis on housing. The project is hot button to be sure and the latest turn demonstrates where the debate is.
The draft environmental impact report concluded the project will contribute noise and greenhouse gases but by slicing 63 homes from 1,422 unit total the impact would be lessened. The EIR also suggested the project would benefit from distributing the affordable housing throughout the redevelopment.
The proposed project would be done in two phases over a 20-year period. It would include a mix of housing including affordable units, shopping, eateries and community spaces.
The greenhouse issue springs from the city being unwilling to forbid the use of natural gas for residential units, though the Bay Area Air Quality Management District favors that approach. The draft EIR says the greenhouse impact would be lessened by building fewer units and at the same time eliminating the traffic that those units would generate.
So, while the draft EIR recommends reducing the total number of homes, Merlone Geir still feels their original plan is the superior choice. Their spokesperson Russ Guehring was quoted in the Marin Independent Journal as saying, “The reduced alternative was naturally identified within the document because it’s a slightly smaller project,” he said. “However, our preferred plan remains the same because it includes our EAH Housing partnership to provide meaningful affordable housing through a full-service approach in the initial phase.”
If you are like me, reading that made you feel a little like you are at the United Nations waiting for the translation.
The project is headed for more public meetings.
SMART train sees increase
The passenger train system serving Marin and Sonoma reports that its ridership in 2023 was the highest in its six-year history. About 750,000 passengers rode the rails last year, a recovery from the COVID period.
The train service has always been controversial with proponents pointing to the cars taken off Highway 101 during peak periods of the commute, as well as the environmental benefits to removing those cars. Critics maintain that the system is expensive to operate and not used widely enough.
SMART has its eye on 2029, when its 30-year sales tax funding runs out. The system went to voters in 2020 to extend the funding, a bad look after only three years of service. Marin voters didn’t support the measure. The organization now hopes to win a new measure in 2027.
To generate support and cut costs to it passengers, SMART decreased fares, added service during the week as well as weekends and dumped parking fees at its facilities.
The lower fares are a big deal because like all public transit programs, SMART has limited revenue streams.
Your Marin moment
It doesn’t happen often, but when it does its just too much fun. I’m speaking of Marin items you can’t make up. In this case it comes to us from Novato, where a neighborhood is fighting a pitched battle over butterflies and possible fire danger.
The Pacheco Valle neighborhood is up in arms over 1.5 medians on Alameda del Prado that are planted with native vegetation that the Monarch butterfly finds both nutritious and delicious. But that mix of plants can also feed fires, and since there is just one road in and one road out of the neighborhood, some neighbors are concerned the medians could become dangerous should a wildfire breakout.
There are a total of six medians on the road, and the medians in question are maintained by Marcia Bassalla who has planted vegetation with an eye toward providing Monarchs with some plants that are vanishing. On the other side of the fight are the FireWise committee and the Friends of Pacheco Valle. Also kicking the tires on the confrontation are Fire Safe Marin and the Novato Fire Protection District. Finally, the Monarchs United for Nutrition, Community and Health (MUNCH) is considering a legal action.
OK, MUNCH probably isn’t a real organization, just trying to keep you on your toes.
Critics say the Monarch environment is unsightly, dry and would burn should it catch fire. Bassalla says she is just trying to do something for Mom Earth and the butterflies.
I say blending too much of anything can be dangerous, like say time and money.
Bill Meagher is a contributing editor at NorthBay biz and a senior reporter at The Deal, a Manhattan-based digital financial news outlet.
