Council weighs settling SB9 lawsuit over Alta Woods driveway

The Town Council met in closed session Thursday to discuss Victor Chiang, as Trustee of the Corte Madera Property Trust v. Town of Corte Madera, a lawsuit over the Town's denial of an SB9 urban lot split and two-unit development at 800 Corte Madera Avenue. The applicant wants to split the lot and build a new driveway across the unimproved "Alta Way" paper street into the Alta Woods neighborhood.

“Any proposed work that is not legally entitled to ministerial review should follow the otherwise applicable Town process, including neighborhood participation where required.”— Karen Lorentson and Brenda Brown, Alta Woods Preservation Group

The Town denied both applications in March, citing the trust's inability to meet the state's owner-occupancy affidavit requirement, unresolved rights to use the paper street, and improper application sequencing. A subsequent Town Manager review reversed the sequencing and paper-street objections but affirmed the denial over the occupancy issue, with Town Manager Adam Wolff writing plainly: "After a thorough review of all relevant information, the Town's denial of the applicant's SB9 Urban Lot Split application is affirmed."

Ahead of the closed session, the Alta Woods Preservation Group sent the Council a letter pressing a different question: whether the driveway, grading and retaining walls through their neighborhood are even legally entitled to SB9's streamlined, ministerial review, or whether they should go through standard Town design review and public hearings instead. The group cited hillside stability and drainage concerns and noted that Wolff's own March ruling approved only "the division of the property into two parcels," not the development shown on the map.

The group is asking for written clarification of the legal basis for any ministerial review and for a meeting with Town staff before the Town commits to any settlement. No settlement or further Council action was reported from Thursday's closed session.

Commission sorts through park wish list for 2027 work plan

The Parks and Recreation Commission will spend Monday's meeting narrowing down which projects from the 2023 Facilities Master Plan should be pitched to the Town Council for next year's work plan. The candidate list is long and not cheap, running from $2,500 distance markers at Town Park to a $500,000 restroom replacement near the skatepark.

Commissioners already agreed in September, based on survey results, that community outdoor fitness equipment at Town Park and Cove Park — $250,000 at each site — should make the cut. Still on the table: bocce courts at Town Park ($150,000), additional pickleball courts at Granada Park ($150,000), a Cove Park picnic area renovation ($200,000), and smaller items like a pollinator garden at Higgins Landing and trail seating at Bayside Trail.

Staff is asking for direction, not a final vote; recommendations are due back to the Commission on December 17 before heading to the Town Council's Strategic Planning and Goal Setting workshop.