Commission takes apart the commercial code: 300-plus land use categories, a 1-per-250 parking ratio, and worry about the town's gateways

The single biggest piece of town business this week was a study session with no vote attached. On July 14 the Planning Commission spent the night on the Commercial Code Modernization Project, a top-to-bottom rewrite of zoning for the four commercial districts (C1–C4) and the MX-1 mixed-use district. Staff and consultant Miller Planning Associates propose consolidating more than 300 outdated land use categories, writing definitions for all of them, moving a number of uses from conditional-use permits to permitted by right, and adding standards for outdoor dining, outdoor display and sales, and outdoor fitness.

“We have automobile vehicle sales, leasing, and rental in our mixed-use zone where we're trying to encourage housing.”— Commissioner Dan, on the draft land use tables

The permitted-by-right shift drew the sharpest pushback. Commissioner Dan argued the districts aren't interchangeable across town — you don't want a car wash in C1 on Tamalpais across from Town Center — and flagged that automobile sales, leasing and rental remain listed in the very mixed-use zone the town is trying to fill with housing. Commissioner Valerie agreed, saying the gateways into Corte Madera shouldn't end up shaped by repair shops or construction storage yards. Commissioner Michael said he isn't much bothered by outdoor dining spilling into parking and pedestrian paths, but wondered how that squares with businesses like Burma Town that have no dedicated parking of their own.

Parking got its own round. The draft would exempt additions under 500 square feet, skip added parking for changes of use below a 30% increase threshold, standardize most non-residential uses at one space per 250 square feet, and let motorcycle spaces substitute for up to 10% of required parking. Dan wanted the motorcycle figure cut to 3%, matching Marin's registered ownership rate; Andrew suggested 5%; Chair Chase noted it's a ceiling, not a requirement. Michael called a single 250-square-foot ratio unusually broad for comparing a nursery to a restaurant. Valerie asked for carpool and ride-share priority, EV-capable conduit on commercial redevelopment, bike parking and shade canopy. Andrew took the opposite tack on outdoor fitness, saying businesses are figuring out their own tradeoffs and the town shouldn't overly prescribe how they divide private space between workouts and customer parking.

Public speakers pressed on specifics. Scott Hawkstraer, representing a marketplace owner, asked how the town would police the 30% threshold if an owner can change use by right with no discussion, and called it punitive to charge the full requirement rather than just the overage. Joel Jacovix of Fitness SF said members often prefer to train outside even when indoor space is open. A speaker named Becca said a private school is looking at 50 Tamal Vista in an MX district and wouldn't be permitted under the draft even with a conditional use permit. Tucked into the same package are Housing Element cleanup items that would rezone 2 Tamalpais Drive from R-2 to C-1 and raise the Old Corte Madera Square height limit from 30 to 35 feet — a change Marin resident Tim Weed says would let him and his partners open a music and café venue there. Staff returns August 11 with a draft ordinance for a commission recommendation.

How many food trucks fit in Menke Park? Commissioners say more than one

Two years of pilot experience with a burger truck would become permanent code under the same draft ordinance, which sets caps of one vendor at Menke Park/Old Corte Madera Square, four at Town Park, and possibly one at the Cove School park, with standards for hours, signage, noise and the parking spaces trucks displace.

Commissioners wanted the Menke number raised. Michael argued for two vendors there, saying they'd draw customers for each other and the square needs activity to match its new improvements. Andrew said he leans toward more vendors than fewer, since consumers want options and food sellers can be symbiotic. Valerie asked for a 12-month report back on vendor performance, noise complaints and impacts on nearby businesses rather than a two-year permit with no evaluation.

Chair Chase raised the practical catch: when people showed up at Menke for the burger truck they took parking spots and circled looking for more — trash, he said, was not a problem. Staff member Amy noted the market sorts itself out anyway: Humble Burger likes Town Park and doesn't want to go back to Menke, while an interested coffee truck only wants Menke. Monty Stevens of the Village said half a million square feet of retail supports only three or four food operators and backed a truck there.

Town Counsel reminded the commission that under recent state law there cannot be an outright ban on mobile food vending; the town can regulate time, place and manner, and has more room to restrict vendors in parks if it holds an exclusive contract. The park and right-of-way rules ride along with the August 11 draft.

Six ports, 10% usage: committee tells staff to fix the EV chargers it has before buying more

Staff arrived Wednesday with a straightforward question — where should Corte Madera put its next public EV chargers? — and got a blunt answer: fix the ones we have first. The town's six charging ports at Town Park and Town Hall, installed in January 2025, are running at roughly 10 to 14 percent usage, and staff member Phoebe reported ongoing operational problems, noting that pretty much every Marin jurisdiction with public charging is having the same trouble. Staff floated a countywide alternative: leasing or licensing town sites to third-party operators instead of owning and babysitting the hardware. One member's worry was that a bad charging experience is worse than none at all.

“Well, that's where the vehicles are. Unfortunately, that's sort of the situation we're in.”— Phoebe, town staff, asked whether EV chargers belong in the Corporation Yard that flooded

Where new ports might go produced the night's best exchange. Committee member Pat argued the town's role is filling the gap for people who can't charge at home, citing three quotes for a home install ranging from $3,000 to $11,000, and floated town-sponsored pay-as-you-go chargers in denser spots like Mariner Green. Another member made the case for the obvious commercial anchor — anybody who lives in East Corte Madera will tell you the social nexus is the Nugget — while a colleague immediately asked whether the shopping center can spare the parking, or wants cars sitting there overnight. Staff noted the only east-side site where the town already has an electrical panel is San Clemente Park.

On the fleet side, staff presented the MTC-funded Fleet Electrification Plan covering the town's 30 vehicles (10 light duty, 20 medium and heavy duty), recommending a phase-one of two additional 10-kilowatt chargers at the Corporation Yard at 81 Lucky Drive on the existing panel before paying for a service upgrade. A member asked whether that's the yard that flooded, and whether chargers belong there. The driver is CARB rules requiring 50 percent of new medium- and heavy-duty purchases to be zero-emission now, rising to 100 percent in 2030.

No votes were taken on siting. The same meeting brought a leadership change: with the outgoing chair stepping aside after two years, Committee Member D. Alexander was elected Chair and Committee Member Lang Vice Chair, both unanimously. Membership dropped to five as of July 1, which puts quorum at three and caps any ad hoc subcommittee at two people to stay outside the Brown Act — so members agreed to pause the landscaping, waste, electrification and tree-planting groups and come back next meeting with fresh priorities.

Three Town Council seats on the November ballot; nomination papers now out

The town issued the call for candidates Friday: three seats on the Corte Madera Town Council go before voters in November, and the nomination period for the 2026 election opened July 13.

The notice is pitched at first-timers — "Have a passion for public service and your community?" it asks — and is the first formal step in a process that runs through the summer for anyone weighing a seat at the dais. The Town Clerk's office administers nominations; check the announcement for paperwork and filing details.

Worth noting for anyone considering it: this week's meetings were exactly the kind of work the job entails — three hours on parking ratios and food-truck caps, and an hour on why six EV chargers aren't working.