Chamber's Battle of the Bands returns to Piper Park — and gets sent back for a parking plan

The loudest civic argument of the week wasn't at City Hall. It was Thursday night at the Parks and Recreation Commission, where the Larkspur Chamber of Commerce laid out plans for its second annual Battle of the Bands at Piper Park on Sunday, June 7, roughly noon to 5 p.m. Chamber representative Marty Murphy described six bands and about 700 expected attendees, food and drink from the Silver Peso, Corner Bar, Tam Tavern and Squid Pizza, an expanded kids zone run by Andrew's Camps, a zero-waste partner, private security from Shea Management and an EMT on site. Ticketing is simpler than last year: $45 general, $20 under 21, free under 5, and no VIP section. Murphy was candid about why the Chamber keeps doing this — city support and existing revenue, he said, don't fully cover the cost of holding events.

“I saw security that day... I saw people leaving the event with alcohol, leaving the event with drinks, going out publicly, which I never allowed them to do, and they walked right past security doing that.”— Commissioner Sunshine, on last year's Battle of the Bands

No vote was scheduled and none was taken. But the feedback made clear the permit isn't a formality. Commissioner Harrison went straight at last year's complaints: 700 people will not fit in Piper's lot. Murphy conceded the point and said he needs to check with the Redwood High School Foundation and Spark on parking availability and permitting. Harrison also asked about sound limits and decibel readings, and offered the practical advice that facing speakers away from the water "makes a huge difference. Water carries sound."

Commissioner Sunshine was blunter, doubting that Larkspur has the infrastructure for an event this size and saying a real parking plan should exist before the permit moves forward. Sunshine also faulted the timing — the June 7 date lands in the middle of the free Music in the Park series, breaking its continuity — and questioned the format itself: selling tickets to hear music people can hear free elsewhere is, in Sunshine's words, a hard way to make money. A written comment submitted online under the name "Nuri" asked how an event that isn't business-focused helps Magnolia Avenue merchants.

Chair Baxter closed by asking the Chamber for a parking plan and urging it to think about integrating with Music in the Park rather than competing with it. Recreation Director Stone said staff-Chamber conversations will continue, which means the real decision point is still ahead of us.

Housing Element scorecard heads to Sacramento; EV chargers get a price list

Wednesday's regular Council meeting carried two business items. The first was Larkspur's Housing Element Annual Progress Report for calendar year 2025 — the state's yearly scorecard on how a city is measuring up against its housing commitments. Staff recommended the Council accept the APR and authorize transmittal to the California Department of Housing and Community Development. The housing advocacy group Call Marin Home is listed as having submitted comment on the item, a reminder that these filings get read closely outside City Hall.

The second item was Resolution 17/26, setting the operating rules for EV charging on City-owned property: a fee structure, time limits, overstay enforcement provisions, a separate employee rate, and standing authority to adjust rates later. Staff recommended adoption as proposed. One commenter, listed as Howard, weighed in on the fee structure.

The more striking line on the agenda was the queue for items <i>not</i> on it: 15 speakers — Peterson, Thalheimer, Sampath, Gann, Allecta, Rocha, Shurstad, Van Hoesen, Anthony, Heaven-Nacamuli, Fago, Obrien, dalBello, Zaglin and one anonymous commenter. No Council action follows non-agenda comment, and the agenda doesn't say what drew the crowd. Whatever it was, it's not on any published agenda yet — and the April 1 regular meeting is cancelled, so the next scheduled opportunity is further off than usual.

Next year's Measure A list: cracked tennis courts, a basketball court, and shade over the dugouts

Before the Chamber presentation, staff walked commissioners through the parks projects proposed for the FY2026-27 capital improvement program, all paid for with county Measure A parks money. The biggest line is about $160,000 to resurface and level the tennis courts at Piper Park (~$120,000) and Centennial Park (~$40,000), bundled into one contract for contractor savings. The work includes crack sealing, pulling the invasive oleanders near the courts, and installing root barriers and deep-root irrigation so the roots stop buckling the surface. Commissioner Harrison asked about adding a waiting area for queuing pickleball players; Public Works Director Julian Skinner said that once the oleanders are out, expanding some hardscape there is already under discussion.

At Green Bay School Park, a roughly $120,000 project would resurface and repair the basketball court, fix pathways, replace mismatched bollard lights with matching high-efficiency fixtures, and swap some turf for drought-tolerant natural grasses. Skinner said outreach found little appetite for new marquee features — but a strong desire to fix the basketball court, and real pushback on removing turf, which neighbors wanted kept.

A third item would spend about $50,000 on slatted shade structures over the four softball dugouts at Piper Park, two per field, possibly requiring rebuilt fence posts. Harrison suggested approaching girls softball — which has previously asked for a scoreboard — as a funding partner while crews are already working on the dugouts. Skinner said the city could "open that discussion with them if they wanted to help fund it in a partnership."