Council signs off on a $1.46 million landscape vision for the library site — grass and all

The whole week came down to one Wednesday night, and most of it was spent on dirt. Landscape architect Kasun Miller of RHAA walked the Council through two designs for the grounds of the Library at the Commons at Doherty Drive and Rose Lane: the Commons plaza, roughly $530,000, and "Habitat Garden Plus" along the southern and eastern perimeter, roughly $930,000. Neither was a budget vote. Staff wanted direction, and got it — consensus to proceed with both.

“I still have the email from council member Andre promising us that there will be no lawn in the commons area. So I'm kind of appalled... you're going to have to move those very heavy 50 lb chairs off of it to mow it every week.”— Laura Levit, California Native Plant Society board member, in public comment

The Commons plan puts a shaded grove seating area, a Mt. Tam–view seating area with trellis and power, crossings over the bioretention swale, movable furniture, a possible future water feature and a flexible open lawn between the new building and the parking lot. The lawn is what lit up public comment. Laura Levit, a California Native Plant Society board member, told the Council she had been promised in writing there would be no lawn there. Sandra Goldman asked why the site needs a second lawn when one already exists at the west end. David Mahler took the other side: "When I look at this proposal for the common space, it really shows that it was all worthwhile." Council Member Scott Pollson worried the movable chairs would walk off and asked how dogs would be handled; Mayor Katherine Wei said she was taken aback by the estimate of roughly $2,000 per Adirondack-style chair.

The habitat garden — native and pollinator plantings, a children's nature play area, decomposed granite ADA paths, interpretive signage, habitat structures — drew a friendlier reception and harder math. Dana Warren Squisher of Refugia Marin said her group has already raised significant money and urged the city to go all out now, while grading equipment is on site. Staff's read: the city commits to grading, soil prep and irrigation, roughly $180,000 to $200,000, with donors funding plantings in phases. Council Member Sarah Margles called it a beautiful Rolls-Royce version she'd back if money were no object, then asked what scaling back the northern portion would save. Vice Mayor Andre warned that heavy spending on the parcel could box in a future civic use, citing live discussions about firehouses and parks and rec facilities. Levit questioned the arithmetic — a garden once priced at $70,000, she said, now approaching a million, with four-inch plants running about $3.50 wholesale.

Council consensus on both, with one ask: more screening and planting between the Commons seating area and the parking lot in the next iteration. Staff will refine costs and return with a phased budget plan. The building itself remains on schedule for early March 2026.

Rose Lane rebuild goes to contract at $1,001,134 — with the land dispute still open

Under Resolution 47/25, adopted unanimously, the Council amended the FY 2025/26 capital budget by $525,000 and awarded a $1,001,134 construction contract to Bauman Landscape and Construction — low bidder of four — to widen Rose Lane, build a traffic circle at the library driveway and add a small parking lot. Funding comes from $350,000 in TAM Measure AA money and $175,000 in gas tax. "We received four bids. The low bid was just over a million dollars," Public Works Director Julian Skinner told the Council. "We believe we've got an accurate reflection of what those true construction costs are."

“We haven't spent the 18.3. We're projecting at this time that the total project will be 18.3 million based on the information we know today.”— Julian Skinner, Public Works Director

Mayor Wei thanked staff for the negotiations with the Rose Lane homeowners associations and said the roundabout should push neighborhood traffic away from homes and into the library. But the negotiation isn't finished. The City Attorney confirmed the city holds an order of possession for the Rose Lane right-of-way while the compensation dispute with the HOA remains unresolved — a loose end Council Member Sarah Margles pressed on before construction begins.

The Rose Lane costs are the visible part of a bigger number. Skinner said the library project is now projected at $18.3 million — "We haven't spent the 18.3" — with a further $314,000 in staff and consultant overruns, plus whatever the landscaping ultimately costs, deferred to a future combined budget amendment.

An 880-square-foot storm-drain sliver on West Baltimore sells for $7,200, over an objection

Pulled from consent and approved unanimously as Resolution 46/25: the sale of a strip of city-owned land between 320 and 330 West Baltimore Avenue — about 880 square feet, containing a city storm drain pipe — to the adjacent owner for $7,200. The city retains a drainage easement. Staff said the appraisal followed the prescribed legal process and the sale sheds city liability.

James Holmes told the Council the Planning Commission's concerns on the item ran three to four pages, and named three problems with the valuation report: the low price, no accounting for the added value to the buyer's property, and a "comparable" sale he said wasn't comparable. The City Attorney answered that the parcel is burdened by the storm drain and constrained by by-right development law changes, offsetting any apparent gain in buildable area, and the Public Works Director noted the city recoups rising value through property tax.

Council Member Scott Pollson, who had asked why the city holds land in fee rather than by easement in this older part of town, said roughly $100 per square foot in Baltimore Canyon looked reasonable. The City Manager is directed to execute the deeds and closing documents.