Pickleball wins Court 4 at Piper Park — its first dedicated court in Larkspur

Four courts at Piper Park have been the front line of Larkspur's tennis-versus-pickleball squeeze for years, and on Wednesday the Council finally drew the lines. Capital Improvement Project 27-202 — court resurfacing at Piper and Centennial parks — was settled with a three-way split: Court 4 becomes a dedicated, permanently striped and netted pickleball court, Courts 1 and 2 stay dedicated tennis, and Court 3 becomes flexible for both sports, scheduled by staff. The motion came from Councilmember Kendall, seconded by Vice Mayor Paulson, and passed unanimously by voice vote.

Council had three plans in front of it: the Park and Recreation Commission's (one dedicated pickleball court, three dedicated tennis), the City Manager's, which came out of a months-long working group (two dedicated tennis, two flexible), and the compromise it ultimately wrote from the dais. The City Manager's pitch was that programming — fixed time slots for each sport rather than open "whoever shows up" play — plus new pickleball nets and clearer scheduling would resolve most of the friction on its own.

Eight residents spoke. Nicole Serensic, a working-group member who said she represented more than 250 pickleball players, framed it as simple fairness: tennis had two fully dedicated courts, pickleball had none. Richard Bennion said he'd be "doing cartwheels" over a single dedicated court. Leo Geraldi, the city's tennis contractor and coach for 26 years, said pickleball noise disrupts instruction and asked that Courts 1, 2 and 3 be grouped for tennis, noting USTA and Marin League matches run roughly twice a month. Nancy Bialek pressed for at least one striped, netted court rather than shared surfaces only.

Paulson wanted to honor the working group's original compromise and revisit it in six months, the way the city handled the dog park. Mayor Andre leaned toward a dedicated pickleball court, citing the size of the pickleball community and the confusion of multiple sets of lines on one surface. The advocates got their dedicated court — just not the one they asked for, landing on Court 4 instead of Court 3.

Larkspur will endorse the Grand Jury's findings on Marin Clean Energy, with the mayor holding the pen

Larkspur won't file a pro forma reply to the 2025-2026 Marin County Civil Grand Jury report on Marin Clean Energy. Council directed Mayor Andre to draft an expanded response endorsing the report's findings and recommendations, to return at a future meeting ahead of the September 16 deadline. The report — "MCE, Marin Clean Energy: A Series of Missteps Highlight Need for Governance Changes" — faults the MCE board's oversight and cites a $200 million cost increase from mismanaged energy contracts and a lack of transparency with ratepayers.

“I fully support the grand jury's findings and will aim to implement many of their recommendations on the MCE board, particularly those dealing with greater fiduciary responsibility and transparency to our ratepayers.”— Mayor Andre, who sits on the MCE board

The City Attorney's guidance: endorse the recommendations broadly, but steer clear of findings aimed at the qualifications of specific, unnamed board members. Andre, who sits on the MCE board himself, read aloud from the report's conclusion that the board had "ceded board authority in various key matters... most significantly, energy procurement, MCE's main function."

Vice Mayor Paulson credited Andre with pressing these questions for two years and backed the fuller response. Public commenter David Mohler agreed, saying the "apple was pretty rotten at its core" despite MCE's polished public presentations.

Marina and Heather Gardens neighbors: the student parking placards are being forged with a felt pen

The annual review of the preferential parking program in the Larkspur Marina and Heather Gardens neighborhoods — created to blunt overflow parking from Redwood High School — became a catalog of complaints about the paper placards themselves. Thomas Atkins of 634 Revere Circle said the tags can be forged with a felt pen and are often obscured hanging from a mirror. Vicki Young of 3 Via La Brisa asked for permanently affixed stickers, saying there are "so many fake yellow tags out there." Deborah Harnett of 50 Corte del Barrio described students driving up to 40 mph and littering, and asked whether the permit fee could be waived given what residents already pay on the lagoon bond.

The City Manager offered some institutional memory: the placard system exists precisely because neighborhood input at the time ran strongly against the sticker enforcement police preferred. Staff recommended continuing the program as-is, with no change to permit charges, while working with neighborhood representatives and possibly law enforcement on refinements.

Paulson said the Tamalpais Union High School District belongs in the conversation and should share enforcement responsibility, since Redwood is a closed campus. Kendall noted that speeding, counterfeit placards and trash are three different problems that may need three different fixes. Council accepted the review unanimously and sent staff back to the neighborhoods.