Tuesday, September 1, 2015

[Marin County] Corte Madera council aims to clear air on WinCup project


Corte Madera Town Council members this week are going to answer how the controversial WinCup apartment project came to be.
Over their next two meetings, council members are faced with responding to the findings and recommendations of the civil grand jury, which published a report in June. There was an eight-month investigation into allegations of “malfeasance and bribery” associated with the WinCup project.
While there was no wrongdoing in connection with the development of the 180-unit apartment complex, the grand jury found that the town officials need to “actually and clearly” inform the public on all future planning and development. The discussion begins Tuesday.
 “I’m glad,” said Councilman Sloan Bailey, who is up for reelection this year.
“Although it’s going to be uncomfortable, the only way to heal is to seriously, soberly analyze it,” he said.
“I think it’s a good opportunity for the council to clear the air on some of that,” added Councilwoman Diane Furst.
Tam Ridge Residences, a three-and four-story building situated at the former WinCup manufacturing plant on Tamal Vista Boulevard, has been the subject of public outcry and heavily criticized for its size, paint job and the effects it will have on traffic.
The San Francisco-based developer, MacFarlane Partners, which is constructing the six apartment buildings on the 4.5-acre site, confirmed it is considering changing the color scheme on the highway side of the buildings.
The apartments are formally leasing in the fall, said Julie Chase, a spokesperson for MacFarlane. No specific date was given.
MEETINGS SET
The Town Council meeting is at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday at Corte Madera Town Hall at 300 Tamalpais Drive and is to be continued at the Sept. 15 council meeting. The response to the report is due Sept. 22.
The grand jury recommended the town require project-specific environmental impact reports for all development that may have a significant impact on the environment, as well as create a standing Design Review Committee and develop a community plan for the Tamal Vista Corridor.
“A separate WinCup EIR would have placed the WinCup development in the public domain for a more comprehensive environmental analysis, a key process for citizen review and input,” the report says.
“This coming agenda is for me to get that direction from the council,” said Town Manager David Bracken. “I’ll draft those responses and bring back to council for approval,” he said.
The council is ready.
“I’m going to make sure my views are heard,” said Councilman Michael Lappert. “I was incensed by the whole process of the WinCup investigation.”
Lappert has repeatedly stated that he was not happy with the manner in which the council and town staff was treated throughout the process.
“The grand jury is not a law enforcer,” he said, “but they acted like one.”
While the investigation was “fine,” Furst said, the demands made on the staff during the investigation were difficult to meet.
“It’s hard with a really small staff,” she said. “That’s what it came down to — more frustration.”
‘LET’S TALK ABOUT IT’
Some Corte Madera residents, such as Jane Levinsohn are frustrated for different reasons.
“It’s our fault we didn’t pay attention,” Levinsohn said in July, accepting some of the blame.
Now that the council has to respond to the report, she said, “I wish somebody would come one hundred percent clean on this whole situation.”
Fellow resident Peter Hensel said he applauded the town’s efforts to engage the community, even before the grand jury report was published.
 “They will spend a lot of time talking to you,” Hensel said of the town planning department. “They are really good planners. They helped to get the study sessions in place. That’s a good thing.”
Nonetheless, council members said the grand jury, in some respects, was right.
“Let’s talk about it, learn our lessons and do better in the future,” Bailey said. “It’s overdue to discuss it publicly. The way we respond ought to be informed by our own people.”
August 29, 2015
Marin Independent Journal
By Adrian Rodriguez

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