Planning Commission · meeting of Tuesday, Aug. 26
Two additions approved — and both showed the seams in Larkspur's design and FAR rules
The commission's docket looked routine: two residential additions, both recommended for approval by staff, neither drawing a single objecting neighbor. Both passed. But the discussion around them said more about Larkspur's rules than the projects did.
“I'm going to abstain in hopes that as you go along, you'll look at this and see what's available or what's a possibility.”— Commissioner Wagstaff, declining to vote on the 5 Ranch Lane addition
At 5 Ranch Lane (APN 021-172-20), owner Gabriel Dunn and designer Nora Frei won Design Review for a 638-square-foot second-floor addition to an existing 2,285-square-foot house and attached garage, plus an expanded front porch and new windows on several elevations. The addition matches the height of the existing second story and lands the house at a 0.39 floor area ratio, just under the 0.40 permitted. Dunn said his family bought the house in March and needs space and repairs, including failing windows; Frei walked through distances to neighbors — roughly 16.5 to 24 feet north, about 32 feet south, 34 feet east — and said the neighbors had seen the plans and had no concerns. The friction came from the dais. Commissioner Wagstaff, an architect, praised the floor plan and panned the exterior — "It's very boxy" — and floated dormers or stepping an element back. Campbell and Hull said it matched the existing house and the neighborhood; Chalmers saw room for improvement but preferred the applicants work with staff rather than redesign; Chair Swisher acknowledged Wagstaff's expertise but said he didn't want the commission redesigning the house. Approved 4-0-1, Wagstaff abstaining.
At 129 La Cuesta (APN 070-321-09), owner Jennifer Tiu got Design Review, a Floor Area Ratio Exception and a Slope Use Permit for just 268 square feet — 134 in the basement, 52 on the first floor, 82 on the second — on the eastern elevation, to install an elevator serving all levels. On a steep lot, small numbers get loud: the result is a 0.21 FAR (4,213 square feet) where the maximum permitted is 0.062 (1,245 square feet), and grading over 25 cubic yards triggered the slope permit. Architect Richard Perlstein said Central Marin Fire had required tree and landscaping removal, that his client complied promptly, and that she plans fire-wise replanting. Nobody objected; a commissioner noted that near as he could tell, nobody would even see it. Chalmers called it "a good example of why the City will be considering modification to the FAR exception," and Campbell said he looked forward to the day the commission no longer has to weigh FAR exceptions on sloping lots. Approved 5-0, with a Class 1 CEQA exemption.
Planning Commission · meeting of Tuesday, Aug. 26
After Three Heather Way, the commission looked at unpermitted-work penalties and left them alone
Commissioner Chalmers asked for this item after the commission's earlier run-in with the Three Heather Way case, wanting to know what actually happens when construction starts without approvals. Community Development Director Semonian and Chief Building Official Bill Hansell laid out the toolkit: increased fees, stop-work orders, administrative citations, liens and special assessments. Staff described Three Heather Way as an extreme outlier — work far beyond the approved scope, inspections never called — that drew a citation of more than $17,000. A related lien is headed to the City Council's next meeting; as staff put it, the owners "might just live in their house until it sells and then eventually we'd get the funds."
“It is at the end of the day a life safety issue and also a fairness issue between one person being proactive and getting a permit and somebody else not following the rules.”— Chief Building Official Bill Hansell
Hansell offered scale: about 1,200 permits a year and roughly 110 active violation cases that have escalated into actual code violations. Pressed directly by a commissioner — "So you don't really feel this is an issue then, that there's nothing wrong with the way we're dealing with it?" — staff held the line.
There was no formal action, and the consensus was that existing penalties and policies are adequate. The commission recommended no changes.
Heritage Preservation Board · meeting of Thursday, Aug. 28
Fabric, not footprint: board backs the Royal Green Acai patio enclosure downtown
At 546 A Magnolia Avenue, home of Royal Green Acai, owner Roberto Saldanha wants to enclose the existing front and rear patios with fire-resistant vinyl/polyurethane fabric and new roofing. The building sits in the Downtown Historic District in the SD (Storefront Downtown) zone, and because it's inside a National Register district the alterations required historic review first. The plans add no new footprint, and staff noted the structure is non-contributing; concerns about exterior lighting, staff said, would be handled by the Planning Commission's standard conditions requiring shielded, downward-facing fixtures.
“I have to say, I'm fully in favor of it. I think it's a big improvement for a small business. It's not permanent and fabric structures are wonderful. I don't see any problem with it if the lighting is mitigated.”— a Heritage Preservation Board member, before the 4-0 vote
The board's questions were about lineage and precedent: one member wondered whether the patios trace back to "the COVID era parklets and some of the extensions that businesses were doing," and another asked whether approving an awning here would give other downtown owners something to point to. Former board member Marilyn Rivera, in public comment, asked the board to weigh whether the enclosure impairs the public view of the railroad right of way, the train station and the warming hut — all contributing structures. The applicant's representative, an architect friend of the owner, called it a straightforward upgrade: "we are replacing something that's not as nice as it used to be."
The board voted 4-0 to forward a recommendation of approval, with member Carol Goldberg absent. The project goes to the Planning Commission on Sept. 9.
Heritage Preservation Board · meeting of Thursday, Aug. 28
The library is building a room for Larkspur's history. The history isn't packed.
The new Larkspur library will include a dedicated 9-by-11-foot archive room — a permanent home for the city's photographs, negatives, objects and Past Perfect database — and the building is expected to open around spring 2026. That clock drove Thursday's longest conversation, opened by former board member Marilyn Rivera, who told the board the room exists because she asked the City Council for it: "This was a request that I made to council and they agreed that it would be included in the new library."
“Anne Morrison said, 'Well Marilyn, you're in charge of the room.' And I looked at her and said, 'Oh, okay.' I'm not on the heritage board, I don't have any official relationship with the city except as a citizen and resident.”— Marilyn Rivera, former Heritage Preservation Board member, in public comment
Her status report was sobering: only about 300 photographs, roughly 20% of the collection, have been digitized. And the collection's steward is, on paper, nobody — Rivera described being handed the job in a hallway.
No vote was taken. The board instead split up the legwork: Rich will contact the Marin History Museum board; Sonia and Marilyn will reach out to consultant Heather Forum; someone will ask Lori Thompson at the county library about archive storage standards; another member will look into library science and museum studies programs at Sonoma State and SF State for student volunteers; and staff member Alex will hunt for the city's old high-resolution scanner and dig up Forum's original report. "We break it into smaller pieces, spoonfuls," one member said. The item returns as continuing business at the September meeting.