At 2000 Larkspur Landing Circle, a $60.1 million deal for roughly 357 homes heads to negotiation

The single biggest thing to happen in Larkspur this week didn't happen at City Hall. Councilmember Margalles reported to the council Monday that the Ross Valley Sanitary District board has authorized its general manager to enter an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement with Brookfield Residential and Carmel Partners for the district's 10-acre parcel at 2000 Larkspur Landing Circle — a $60.1 million purchase price paired with about 357 residential units: 72 for-sale townhomes and 285 rental apartments in a five-story building, including roughly 90 units affordable to low-income households under a minimum 25% affordability requirement.

Margalles said the site carries a by-right designation under the city's housing element allowing 25 to 35 units per acre with at least 20% affordable, so the team's 25% clears the floor. 25 companies answered the district's request for qualifications; five made the shortlist for proposals. She called it an exciting moment for Larkspur to see new development while reaching its affordable housing goals.

The scale of the thing surfaced again an hour later. During the building-code presentation, Margalles asked whether a five-story apartment complex at Larkspur Landing would slip past solar requirements written for low-rise buildings; staff said exceptions hinge on roof size but some offset obligation would still apply. And in the budget session, staff said flatly they won't book a dollar of revenue from new housing until permits are issued.

Nothing is settled. An ENA is only an agreement to negotiate, and the target is a finalized Development and Disposition Agreement by the third quarter of 2026. Separately this week, planning staff told the Planning Commission that after two tries, the state has accepted Larkspur's Housing Element — the document that made the Larkspur Landing density possible in the first place.

The five-year forecast: Larkspur spends about $500,000 a year more than it takes in

Administrative Services Director Emilia Gabrielle laid out a five-year general fund forecast projecting $26.8 million in revenue against $28 million in expenditures for FY2026/27 — a negative fund balance change of $486,000 and a structural operating deficit of roughly $500,000 a year, driven by operating costs at the new library and growth in the city's CalPERS unfunded liability. A $2.5 million reserve banked earlier is meant to absorb the hit.

Property tax carries about 65% of general fund revenue, or $17.4 million. Staff are forecasting 4% annual growth against a 5% historical average, with no new-development revenue assumed. Two reassessments are on the watch list: the Skylark appeal and the just-closed Serenity sale.

The city manager blamed the run-up in Central Marin police and fire costs on regional bidding wars for personnel that prior planning never anticipated. Police contract renegotiations arrive next fiscal year, fire the year after. He noted many cities would turn cartwheels to spend only half their general fund on public safety; some agencies statewide are at 65 to 70%.

Mayor Andre said plainly that the city has a structural deficit and will be drawing on reserves unless revenues rise or expenses fall, and asked that future presentations show projected reserve balances across all five years. Budget sessions run through April and May; introduction comes April 14/15 and adoption is set for June 3.

At 73 Via La Brisa, a second story wins approval — negotiated eight inches at a time

At 73 Via La Brisa, applicant Mark Wittenkeller, working for owners Patrick and Lindsey Stewart, asked for design review and a floor area ratio exception to add a 457-square-foot second story over the garage of an existing 3,844-square-foot home. Two bedrooms and a laundry area would bring the house to 4,301 square feet — an FAR of 0.445 where 0.40 is the maximum in the R-1 district. Staff recommended approval with findings, conditions and a Class 1 CEQA exemption.

“I think it's a lovely design.”— Commissioner Tamara, on the 73 Via La Brisa addition

Nobody spoke against it. The applicant arrived with seven neighborhood signatures, months of work with the Larkspur Marina Property Owners Association's three-person architecture committee, and a support letter from across the street. Patrick Stewart made the family's case himself: four kids, a son who will match his father's height by 16 or 17, and in-laws over 80 who will likely be staying with them. Standard ratios, he said, are hard for a family that size.

The fight was over bulk. Commissioner Hall said no nearby home has a two-story element sitting right at the front like that, and pressed the principle: the commission decides what's good for the town in general, and if this one goes through, the next one does the same thing. Commissioner Wagstaff said the addition atop the garage could look formidable from the street and would make this the second-largest house by floor area and fourth-largest by FAR in the neighborhood. Chair Swisser sympathized on massing but wouldn't delay the applicant a month. The Community Development Director asked the commission to decide that night rather than hand the details to staff.

So the applicant negotiated live at the dais — pull the bedroom wall back eight inches, the bay window six, so the window lines up with the garage face. The commission approved 4-0 (Hall, Wagstaff, Campbell, Swisser) with conditions: bay window aligned to the garage face, side bedroom walls pulled back to preserve articulation, board-and-batten Hardie panel siding with pinstriping instead of shingle, and a standing seam metal roof in place of the eave design. Commissioner Chalmers recused because the property sits near his own.

501 Via Casitas: commission tells Sequoia Living to skip the chain link and spend the money

Returning from a March 10 continuance, the request at 501 Via Casitas came from applicant Chad Reynoso for owner Sequoia Living: design review for an accessory structure larger than 400 square feet housing a fuel cell and condenser, a slope use permit for 126 cubic yards of cut and fill, and a fence height exception for an 8-foot fence where 6 feet is the limit, in the R-3 district.

“I believe the aesthetics of a horizontal fencing are better than a chain link with the vinyl slats in it. I think those personally don't hold up very well over time either.”— Alex, city planning staff, on the fence options at 501 Via Casitas

Revised plans added native landscaping and put two fences on the table: chain link with vinyl privacy slats, or six-inch horizontal wood or aluminum. The applicant's representative said the chain link ran roughly one-tenth the cost of the aluminum and that the project was already over budget on landscaping and civil work. Staff preferred the horizontal fence.

Commissioners weren't moved by the price tag. Hall said slatted chain link never holds up — the slats shatter and break. Wagstaff pointed to other slatted fences nearby that have aged badly, and noted this one is visible from the street. Commissioner Natasha asked for black or dark green. Chair Swisser said he'd spend the money on nice horizontal fencing and encourage native plants along it; applicant representative Mr. Bloom said he'd found natives that grow six feet or higher and would rather plant than stamp concrete at that scale.

Approved 4-0 (Chalmers, Wagstaff, Campbell, Swisser) with the horizontal fence in a dark color and the proposed native landscaping, subject to findings, conditions and a Class 1 CEQA exemption.