Over the past few months, the County has kicked into high gear, quietly pushing through fundamental changes to local zoning and regulations, even while the more overarching process of a County General Plan update is underway.

Several of these changes may pave the way for west Marin to become very different from the beautifully natural and rural setting it is, and has been for many decades. In some fundamental ways, these changes appear to be altering the original vision of the 1970's pioneering Countywide Plan. They also appear to be part of an ongoing trend toward limiting public input, and increasing or decreasing county discretion in ways that consistently allow greater development.

Factories, and Everything Else, On Farms and 'Farms'?

In June, changes were made to the definition of agricultural zoning classifications, applying primarily to properties being used as agricultural operations.

Ostensibly to allow local agricultural operations more ways to do their business, the zoning changes appear to make explicit and unnecessarily permissive provisions for several simultaneous uses:

o Agricultural product processing factories of up to 5,000 square feet

o Retail facilities up to 500 square feet

o Year-round roadside retail structures and signage

o Room rentals

o Worker housing

o Affordable housing

o Boarding facilities for up to five horses

o Multiple family residences in addition to second units

It appears that some form of each is guaranteed in such a way that the County and its citizens have no discretion to allow or deny whatsoever. For these specified uses, the new zoning also apparently ignores long-standing safeguards, such as a Master Plan, EIR, public input, and design review-a simple building permit is all that is needed.

The words "seems" and "appears" are used here because the new zoning language, while somewhat more detailed than the previous code, is more complex and confusing; it raises more questions than it answers. Several observers have commented that it is amazing that the Board of Supervisors would adopt such an incomprehensible jumble into code. At the very least, at face value, the new language appears to leave wide margins for interpretation, and could easily set precedents for littering west Marin with large, unsightly and less environmentally appropriate structures and activities.

For example, the new zoning appears to guarantee 5000sq. ft. factories, but does not say whether it is one factory per operation, one per owner, or one per parcel, and it does not appear to thoroughly define a minimum acreage requirement. Since zoning is generally by parcel it may be interpreted as being by parcel, perhaps even on multiple small parcels within one contiguous property, so there might be multiple factories associated with a given operation or property. And it is likewise for the other use types. Again, as these uses are now given as "basic rights" within the zoning, there are no approvals needed, just a building permit.

The wider variety of activities apparently now possible may also prove to be even less enforceable than the previously existing regulations, which were already not wellmonitored or enforced. An employee of the Community Development Agency acknowledged that there was no discussion, during the creation of the new language, of the enforceability of related regulations.

To obtain all these benefits, one need maintain only the sparest trappings of an agricultural operation. There are already people who have expressed an intention to take advantage of some of these perks through maintenance of minimal agricultural activities; some locals are calling these proposals "hobby farms."

One of the reasons Marin's agricultural operations, and supports for those operations, are so popular in Marin's communities is that they are perceived as being more friendly to wild habitat than industrial, commercial or large scale residential uses. Marin's regulations should ensure that this remains true. The line should be drawn at allowing uses on agricultural properties that degrade the quality of life for surrounding communities, endanger public health, pose a threat to the habitats of endangered species, make long-term changes to the landscape, literally and figuratively.

Extra-Large Second Units

In addition, the Housing Element of the upcoming Countywide Plan, also approved in June, specifically promotes second units in west Marin larger than anywhere else in Marin. The second unit sizes for west Marin parcels of one acre or larger is set at 1000 square feet; five acres or larger are allowed 1200 square feet, where other more urban unincorporated areas are only set at 750 square feet. Given that infill generally targets urban areas, the logic of this appears to be backwards.

This is in addition to a new state law that already allows more second units throughout Marin.

Septic Regulations Rolled Back

Also in June, the County loosened septic system rules, limiting cases in which system upgrades are required for homeowners seeking to remodel or add on to their homes. So, now, it's cheaper to remodel or add on to a home because often the owner won't have to significantly upgrade the septic system.

The theory seems to be that people are going to build anyway, so if the triggers requiring upgrades of septic systems are weakened, then maybe people will be more likely to seek permits, and the County will get upgrade fees, or minor upgrades upon inspection, and everyone will be happier.

This is, of course, a nonsensical approach, since public health regulations should be based on what is required to ensure public and environmental health, not on public opinion. The County has the legal capability and vested responsibility to make its rules enforceable, and to then enforce them.

While issuing these changes, the County -which has the power to enact mandatory system inspections, or act on discretionary system inspections at the time of upgrades - ironically expressed the wish that more people would allow the County to inspect their systems. In fact, the County has persistently refused to enforce an existing County law that requires bi-annual inspections of septic systems.

The question remains: at what other juncture should Marin County's systems be upgraded? Lack of enforcement by Marin Environmental Health Services (EHS) is still the prevalent issue; easing septic regulations in a misguided attempt to draw people in for permits and inspections is no substitute for a legitimate program of health inspection and enforcement.

A Word About Process

Over the past several years, the County has gradually experimented with new forms of public process. Disguised as innovative approaches, county process has evolved into one that divides input into disconnected fragments and that guides outcomes into predetermined domains - public process that controls public input and participation.

The County seems to have abandoned tried and true methods such as phrasing proposals comprehensively or showing clear line-by-line changes to existing code, or offering clear comparisons between new proposals and the status quo.

Interestingly, similar methods have followed Supervisor Kinsey wherever he has gone. The County has used them extensively in recent years, with increasing frequency and intensity in the past year. Input on the Countywide General Plan update is being limited in several ways - including scope and method of communication; in some stages, focus groups were comprised of only invited attendees; discussions on different subjects were purposefully isolated from each other; participants were not permitted to refer, in virtually any way, to the existing Countywide Plan, which has often been hailed as visionary and a model for others. The County Congestion Management Agency and the bay area Metropolitan Transportation Commission-both currently headed by Kinsey-have both begun using similarly slippery, decentralized, and easily manipulated processes in current efforts to update their overarching planning documents.

Oversight And Enforcement Nearly Non-existent

Already weaker and less consistent than in most neighboring jurisdictions, regulatory enforcement by Marin's Community Development Agency (CDA) and the department of Environmental Health Services (EHS) continually exhibit a 'ho-hum' attitude toward enforcement of regulations on the books.

The CDA has also been infected with EHS's lack of will for enforcement. An anonymous complaint indicating that Supervisor Kinsey was again building illegally on his own property as recently as July 2003 will apparently go uninvestigated. In another notable case, a Terra Linda resident who built a home twice as large and tall as the plans for which his permit was issued got off with a $3,000 fine, and was actually granted an as-built permit by CDA, instead of a well-deserved order to remove the illegal second story and extra 3500 square feet. And one west Marin resident bragged openly in the Marin IJ about building illegally to avoid the risk of a septic system upgrade being required-no investigation.

The Bottom Line

Many Marin residents feel there is an innate beauty to Marin, almost a sort of magic -and much of that comes from the natural beauty of west Marin.

If we want that beauty to be there for the next generation, or even ten years from now, the current trends in County governance must be stopped. Meaningful public process has to be restored, regulations must be strengthened and clarified to preserve the qualities we value, and the County must live up to its duty to enforce critical environmental and public health regulations.