The farmers market pilot ran into 18 parking spaces — and got sent back to the drawing board

The idea was straightforward enough on paper: with Lucky Market gone, let produce vendors set up in the downtown municipal parking lot. Staff brought Council a pilot pairing a for-profit farm stand run by Marin Community Farm Stands (operator Jim Bomb) on Tuesdays with a nonprofit certified farmers market run by the Marin Community Farmers Market Association (director Lynn Bagley) on Thursdays, wrapped in a temporary use permit, an encroachment permit, a license agreement, and right-of-way fees of roughly $170 per occurrence. What it also required was about 18 parking spaces for an eight-hour block — and that is where the evening turned.

“I haven't heard anything from merchants... you're taking away our only parking lot. I just don't understand that.”— Margaret Vontes, merchant at 476 Magnolia Avenue

The item drew 26 written comments and a long line of speakers. Merchant Margaret Vontes of 476 Magnolia said no one had asked the businesses first. David Monson told Council, "Parking has always been the number one issue in downtown Larkspur. You're not taking half, you're taking far more." Terry Burkemire asked how the city could justify "robbing the current merchants" without knowing how much extra traffic the vendors would generate. In writing, James Holmes offered the line of the night: "Closing the entire lot because no one wants to pay for the partial closure seems like insult to injury."

The vendors pushed back on the math from the other direction. Bagley said 90% of farmers markets pay no rent at all and asked to pay only the $500 initial fee plus the $100 encroachment fee. Bomb said his operation handles agricultural products and nothing else. Bookshop owner Steph Tisignnot, caught between the two camps, suggested an 8 or 9 a.m. opening as a compromise so the market wouldn't eat prime retail hours.

Council split on instinct — Council Member Wei said alternative locations hadn't been fleshed out, while Mayor Andre said this is something residents have asked for and deserves a chance — and settled on delay. The item was tabled to the June 18 meeting, with staff directed to come back with a smaller footprint, a single-day pilot, adjusted hours, and other possible sites, including the library lot.

Half of Magnolia is 'stuck under a dark, ugly tunnel,' business owners tell Council

Before the agenda even started, non-agenda public comment delivered the week's rawest testimony. Business owners and workers described the long-stalled construction and scaffolding at 483 and 485 Magnolia Avenue as an ongoing drain on the block. Sarah Harrison told Council the conditions have made her dread her own workplace: "It is heartbreaking to me to go to a job... based on the condition of my current work environment. I need your help."

“We've been here for 105 years... Magnolia Avenue is the characteristic of our town and half of it stuck under a dark, ugly tunnel now.”— Melissa Shirley, Magnolia Avenue business owner

Melissa Shirley, whose business she said has been on the street for 105 years, framed it as a question of what Larkspur looks like to itself. No action was taken and none was scheduled; Mayor Andre said she had already reached out to the property owner and would follow up again this week.

It is worth noting the pairing: on the same night residents argued over 18 parking spaces, the block a few doors down has been shrouded in scaffolding long enough that people are pleading at the podium. Both are downtown-vitality problems. Only one of them has a June 18 return date.

Budget and five-year capital plan adopted unanimously; EV chargers wait, Library Phase 2 stays on the board

Council unanimously adopted the FY2026-27 budget and the five-year Capital Improvement Program (Resolution 37/26), a list that includes softball dugout shade structures, tennis court resurfacing at Piper Park, Centennial court resurfacing, paving on Larkspur Landing Circle and Redwood Highway, storm drain work, and a South Magnolia Avenue corridor study. The accompanying financial policy resolutions — 38/26 through 44/26, covering on-call vendor lists, investment and purchasing policy, general fund reserves, appropriation limits, and authorized positions and salary ranges — passed as a slate.

The two live arguments were about what to defer. Staff wanted to pull EV charging infrastructure out of the Rec Center project and return once grant and PG&E details firm up; Council Member Margolis warned that waiting on federal renewable funding is a shaky planning assumption in the current climate. City Manager Schwarz, on the utility talks, said, "We were shocked to find out that was even a conversation we could have... it's probably why it's taking a little longer than we would have liked to bring that to fruition." Council also declined to strike "Library Phase 2" from the unfunded list, with Council Member Kandell saying it's too early to narrow the city's options before living in the new building for a while.

Council Member Scott flagged a savings of nearly three-quarters of a million dollars from the reorganization at RVPA and Central Marin Fire. Margolis asked whether the city should refinance its road repaving bonds; Schwarz said staff would "return later this year after we've had a chance to speak with the municipal advisor and prepare an analysis." Five written comments were filed on the budget and transient occupancy tax, including one from the Larkspur Community Foundation.

An infant found alone downstairs prompts a stroller policy — and the meeting rooms at 400 Magnolia get their first rules

The Library Board voted unanimously Monday to adopt a stroller policy, with designated stroller parking at the front and back entrances, permission to roll a stroller inside so long as a child is in it, and a prohibition on leaving an unattended stroller with a child in it while the parent goes elsewhere. The prompt was concrete: a board member described finding a 9-month-old alone in a stroller downstairs while the parent took an older child to the bathroom. Two amendments were added — language stressing that strollers are for children who can't yet walk ("not everyone should feel the need to bring one in for their purse or a snack") and a clause saying the library isn't responsible for lost strollers or their contents. Patrons needing accessibility accommodations are directed to the city's ADA officer.

“I've had inquiries for the room from everything from birthday parties to celebrations of life.”— Library Director, on demand for the new meeting rooms

The bigger question is what happens in the three meeting rooms at 400 Magnolia, which are booked solid without a finished policy. The director told the board requests have ranged from birthday parties to celebrations of life, and that a final policy is likelier around September than July, after staff watch a summer's worth of actual use. Also on the table: an after-hours study hall open until 8 p.m. even when the library is closed — no behavior problems yet in the teen room, the director said, but liability argues for monitoring.

Two nights later Council gave interim direction: yes to letting Larkspur-serving nonprofits book standing monthly meetings, and openness to a graduated cleaning fee. Kandell: "I would say yes to once a month. I would say yes to the fee. And I would say yes to a graduated fee with a smaller fee for the smaller room, which would incentivize people to take the smaller room." Toastmasters and the Friends of the Library — who said they're holding 7,000 of the library's books and would love a place to sell them — both spoke in favor. The full policy returns June 17.