After four years, two redesigns and a lot-line swap, 400 Oakdale Avenue wins approval

The long-running design fight over 400 Oakdale Avenue reached its finale Tuesday when the Planning Commission voted 5-0 to approve design review and a parking variance for a new 3,846 sq ft two-story residence with an 800 sq ft detached ADU, new driveway, fencing, landscaping and a pool. Approval hinges on a lot line adjustment with the neighboring parcel at 404 Oakdale Avenue that would turn the property into a reverse corner lot, letting the house shift north toward the rear boundary.

“I don't think those trees can will be saved when you're building within a few inches of the trunk, and that's fine if that's the decision we make. I just want to be clear that I don't think those trees will be saved.”\u2014 Commissioner Dan, on tree preservation at 400 Oakdale

Ahead of the hearing, Deborah Harvey, who lives directly across the street on Chapman, wrote in urging commissioners to stop stalling on what she called a 'beautiful project,' complaining of 'astonishing delays' over what she characterized as fabricated concerns. Staff recommended approval, saying the redesign shifts the home north to preserve the views from 404 Oakdale's living areas, and the applicant's representative said the project had been four and a half years in the making, calling the latest version 'basically a full redesign based on Dan's advice to flip the lot.'

Not everyone was satisfied. David Benady of 230 Chapman Drive told commissioners he supports the owners' right to build but said 'it's astounding to us that this is what the neighbor is left with' and that the home 'will always feel like a home that ended up in the wrong location.' Commissioner Dan warned that construction so close to tree trunks would doom them regardless of the vote, and another commissioner floated shifting the house 3-5 feet south to save plum trees at 230 Chapman \u2014 an idea the applicant rejected, saying it would mean 'another four months' after three redesigns already. The attorney for 404 Oakdale's owners, the Gauge family \u2014 who she said are selling the property for a dollar \u2014 said they had no remaining concerns about the design.

Commissioner Valerie said she had no objections to the design as proposed, and the commission's vote was unanimous on both design review and the variance. The project's fate still depends on the lot line adjustment going through.

Wolff resigns as Town Manager; Council hires outside lawyer to investigate, waives Brown Act secrecy

Town Manager Adam Wolff is stepping down. On Tuesday's agenda, the Council will vote on Resolution No. 38/2026 accepting Wolff's resignation and appointing Adam Politzer as Interim Town Manager under a new Interim Town Manager Employment Agreement. The same night the Council will adopt a Second Amendment to Wolff's existing agreement (Resolution 37/2026), approved alongside his departure, and a separate resolution (39/2026) hiring A.W. Blan Workplace Legal Services to conduct an independent investigation.

That investigation resolution also grants a limited waiver of the Brown Act's confidentiality rules so meeting attendees can tell the investigator what happened in closed sessions held May 20 and August 11, 2026. Those closed sessions weren't isolated: the Council also met privately on Aug. 11 for a Town Manager performance evaluation and again on Aug. 20 for a special session covering four items, taking no reportable action either time but giving staff direction after the August 20 meeting.

Before Tuesday's public meeting, the Council will huddle in another closed session to discuss anticipated litigation and conduct a further performance evaluation of the Town Manager. None of the underlying allegations are described in the public materials \u2014 the packet lists only the resolutions and legal mechanics, with no staff narrative or public comment on record. What prompted the resignation, and what the investigation will examine, remains unexplained in what the Town has released so far.

Council to hold hearing on ending tobacco and nicotine sales town-wide

Corte Madera businesses could soon be barred from selling tobacco and nicotine products altogether. The Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday on an ordinance that would repeal and replace Municipal Code Chapter 5.06 to end retail sales of tobacco and nicotine products town-wide, with a companion chapter (5.07) repealed once the sales ban takes effect.

Staff's recommendation is straightforward: hold the hearing and introduce the ordinance. The packet doesn't detail exemptions, enforcement, or a phase-in timeline, and no public comments are recorded yet \u2014 that will likely come at the hearing itself, where retailers and residents get their first formal chance to weigh in.