Commission restores recreation programs for disabled adults after outcry

The week's biggest story unfolded in two acts. First came a flood of letters to the Parks and Recreation Commission after Rec Inc programs serving adults with developmental disabilities — the Third Friday dances, Fourth Friday parties, sports nights and the Lions Club's Champions dinner — quietly stopped running when longtime recreation coordinator Aaron Dugan left about 1.5 weeks earlier. Parents, caregivers and nonprofit staff wrote in describing the programs as a rare social lifeline, and Lisa Markey of People with Disabilities Succeeding pointedly asked why a program serving disabled residents could lapse "without notice and apparently without a plan to continue them."

“You have a gem that has gone into the garbage disposal that you need to reach in and grab back out.”— Kathleen Asher Tilgaray, at public comment · ▶ Watch this exchange

Then, on Monday, the commission reshuffled its agenda to deal with the fallout first. Dozens of participants, parents and Lions Club volunteers showed up, worried most about the October Halloween dance. Parent Julia Micah put the frustration plainly: "How did we go from having a fabulous August, September to nothing in October? That is my only anger that I hold towards this town, my hometown." Staff insisted it was a pause, not a cancellation, while weighing whether to hire a new coordinator (about two months), contract with a nonprofit, or free up a facility-use path.

Commissioners moved fast: they granted Rec Inc, the volunteer booster group behind the programming, temporary "town civic organization" status, letting it use town facilities for free and restart activities right away, and formed an ad hoc subcommittee — Commissioners Stolier and Condria — to figure out how the transition broke down and build a longer-term fix. Former recreation supervisor Dave Wilkinson floated having Dugan and a colleague train town staff while Rec Inc keeps helping informally. Chair Miles told the room the commission would "get something back up and running as quickly as we can," and the town is expected to post for a new coordinator in the meantime.

Council to legalize decades-old duplex at 125 Baltimore Avenue

Tuesday's council agenda includes a public hearing to bring an existing two-unit home at 125 Baltimore Avenue into legal conformance after years as a nonconforming use.

Staff is recommending the council adopt Resolution No. 42/2026, changing the General Plan land use designation from Low Density Residential to Medium Density Residential, and introduce an ordinance reclassifying the parcel from R-1 to R-2 Low-Density Multiple Dwelling. No new units would be added — the property already functions as a duplex — but its zoning would finally match how it has long been used.

If approved, the General Plan amendment takes effect immediately, while the zoning ordinance needs a second reading. No opposition has surfaced in the agenda packet ahead of the hearing.

Council set to adopt sweeping commercial zoning overhaul townwide

Also on Tuesday's agenda: final approval of Ordinance No. 1061, a broad rewrite of the town's commercial code spanning Title 12 (Streets and Sidewalks) and Title 18 (Zoning) across the C-1, C-2, C-3, C-4 and MX-1 districts.

The package creates new land use categories, outdoor-use standards, reduced parking requirements, and fresh rules for temporary uses, microbusinesses and sidewalk vending, plus Housing Element implementation amendments. It also rezones 2 Tamalpais Drive from R-2 to C-1 to match its General Plan designation. The ordinance cleared first reading Sept. 15 on a 4-0 vote, one councilmember absent, alongside a companion resolution setting three new related fees.

At the September hearing, residents turned out in support rather than opposition — one speaker described a vision for a coffee cart and community hub at Menke Park under the new microbusiness rules, and three in-person speakers plus two more on Zoom voiced general support. No opposition was recorded.