An 8.7-foot tide, four million gallons of missing capacity, and a room full of Marina residents who want the lagoon drawn down

The single biggest civic event of the week happened three weeks after the water receded. Public Works Director Julian Skinner walked Council through the January 1–5 king tide, when the peak hit 8.7 feet — roughly 18 inches above the forecast — and put salt water over the street in three places: Larkspur Plaza Drive, the Larkspur Marina/Riviera Circle area, and Redwood Highway at Industrial Way. Skinner was blunt that the city's pumps are the wrong tool: "The pump stations are sized and designed to remove the runoff from rain events... they're not sized or designed for when the creek then spills into the street to be able to pump that water back out." The regional fixes on the table — levees, tide gates, raised infrastructure — carry an estimated $17 billion countywide price tag.

“In the past I have to compliment Julian because he would anticipate these storms and he dropped the level of our lagoon... This year my wife called and talked to Julian. His comment was, 'I'll probably get to it tomorrow.'”— Chris Hillard, Via Labresa resident, during public comment

But residents didn't come to talk about 2050. They came to talk about the Marina Lagoon's level on January 1. Mara Victor said her street off Riviera Circle "flooded right at the beginning on the first day and never cleared it." Ted Wilson: "It doesn't seem the city's been at all proactive this year in pumping that down." John Quigley of 258 Riviera Circle did the arithmetic: "If they lower the lagoon by a foot, that's over four million gallons of capacity... What it does is it buys us time." Cindy Morgan reported eight inches of water in her garage for several days. Hannah Flegel said gravel Public Works placed in an easement washed into the street and plugged a drain, and she cleared it herself with a shovel and rake.

Then came the disclosure that reframed the evening: Skinner said the contractor and the HOA had asked the city not to lower the lagoon this winter because their equipment "performs better with an elevated water level" — a call made, he said, "not having the information that we were going to get an 8.7 tide." The lagoon, he noted, is "a passive water conveyance body" with no permanent pumps, and drawdowns are rare. Residents also described raw sewage in the floodwater — John Thornton said "you could see bits of toilet paper" — and Leanne Warner of 315 Riviera Circle asked why nobody told them: "If Ross Valley had to let the state know, how come Larkspur doesn't know about that?... there's a lot of expense that goes into decontaminating a home." The city attorney said the sanitary district's spill-reporting duty runs to the state, not to "lateral public agencies that have no oversight over them."

Council members flagged that Alert Marin sent no messages during the event, though Central Marin Police pushed real-time alerts, and asked staff to post flood contacts on the city website. Council Member Kandell asked whether the city could help damaged homeowners document losses for disaster relief and whether the storm drain master plan and Measure G funds should be rescoped for tidal backflow. Mayor Andre defended staff: "I don't think it's fair to just... our staff did the best they could at the time... all of us were caught off guard with the forecast." There was no vote. Council directed staff to return with short-term options, cost estimates and a timeline, and to coordinate with residents, the HOA and Ross Valley Sanitary District — before the next king tide, forecast Jan 30–Feb 1 at 6.8 feet. That deadline is now next weekend.

Murray Lane estate clears heritage review 4-0; a fire-gutted Loma Vista house gets its roof back

Two historic-inventory houses came before the Heritage Preservation Board Thursday, and both left with recommendations to approve. At 9 Murray Lane, owners Aaron and Erin Kahn want to add roughly 1,767 square feet to the first story, build a two-car garage, add a new 899-square-foot detached ADU at the rear, expand a detached workshop, rebuild a long-gone historic porch, and remove a deteriorated cottage and some trees for fire department access. Polsky Perlstein Architects is the applicant (PLN25-027). The architect told the board that "the old Murray house" survives in the easterly portion of the building; one board member noted the property carries an A rating on the inventory and that the Murray name matters to Larkspur's history.

“I have no objections. I appreciate you restoring it actually.”— a Heritage Preservation Board member, voting to approve the Loma Vista rebuild

The argument was never really about square footage — it was about supervision. A board member singled out historic consultant Jerry Holland's conditions requiring him to meet with the architect and construction crew before demolition and to observe the work at regular intervals. The board voted 4-0 to recommend approval, stipulating that conditions A through D be followed. It now goes to the Planning Commission. The owner said the family of five was shocked at the building's condition when they walked it, and that aging parents plan to move into the ADU eventually.

At 8 Loma Vista Avenue (called Alma Vista on the recording), owner Alyson Douglas proposed rebuilding the rear of a historic residence damaged by fire: a new rear staircase, a flat roof converted to a hipped roof, and about 30 square feet enclosed behind the garage (PLN25-043). Holland again found the work consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards. Neighbor James Holmes spoke in support and offered a note on the building's architect, whom he believed designed a bank in Sausalito. The board approved 3-0 — but only after some housekeeping: Chair Callain recused herself for living nearby and the vice chair was absent, so Carol Goldberg had to be named chair pro tem before business could start.

The library is nearly done: substantial completion targeted for mid-February

Amid a hard night at Council, one item drew nothing but applause. At the Commons site off Doherty Drive and Rose Lane, near Redwood High, Skinner showed photos and video of a completed building envelope, interior finishes underway, solar panels installed, EV chargers going in, plus the habitat garden and the traffic circle and parking lot work along Rose Lane.

Substantial completion is expected mid-February 2026, final completion mid-March, with grand opening and ribbon-cutting dates to follow. Notably, no budget amendment was requested — the item was informational and required no vote.

"No questions. Just a big thank you. Looks fantastic," one council member said. Another: "once the library opens, it's going to be very exciting for our community." A third was "super excited to see the photo of the solar panel."