Residents demand a flood plan weeks before king tides return

With an El Niño winter stacking on top of king tides and rising seas, Public Works Director Julian Skinner told council that tides are already running about a foot above predicted levels, with 8.7+ foot tides possible in November, December and January. Staff described LIDAR flood-mapping, temporary modular flood walls, pump deployment, and a stockpile of 60,000 sandbags and 70 tons of sand at Piper Park — but offered no finished plan to the dozen-plus Riviera Circle, Larkspur Marina, Hillview and industrial-area residents who packed public comment.

“Described evacuating with two children through knee-deep sewage water during the January flood due to lack of communication, and asked for regular mayor-style updates, guidance on when to evacuate, and where to park cars or seek shelter.”— Morgan Chatley, Larkspur Marina resident

Neighbors described January's flood in blunt, exhausted terms. Matt Guerrero said he carried hundreds of sandbags himself and wants more pumps; Kevin Hackman offered to coordinate private barriers across 76 homes and explained how water reaching floor joists multiplies structural damage; a Larkspur Marina resident named Joe said he was disappointed that, six weeks from a major forecast event, the city still had no definitive plan, and questioned whether holiday staffing could handle a known emergency.

Mayor Andre reminded the room that flood risk isn't confined to the waterfront, noting residents east of Highway 101 are equally exposed, while Skinner acknowledged hard limits on what the city can do alone — the Riviera Circle lagoon drains through a single 20-inch pipe, and any creek-side barrier would largely fall to private property owners, with the city offering data support. Council took no formal action but agreed to waive parking restrictions during flood events, consider opening public buildings as refuge, and put flood preparedness at the top of the October 21 agenda.

Sanitary district says regional agency overbilled it by $500,000

Ross Valley Sanitary District General Manager Steve Moore told council his district is locked in a formal dispute with the Central Marin Sanitation Agency after CMSA switched its cost-allocation formula from flow-and-strength to flow-only, a change RVSD says inflated its annual treatment bill by $500,000 to $600,000. RVSD alleges years of faulty CMSA sampling data and says it's underrepresented on the CMSA board — holding roughly half the service population but only 2 of 5 votes, while Corte Madera holds 20% of votes on just 12% of the population.

“That's a half a mile of sewer that we could replace and make watertight and prevent surcharging.”— Steve Moore, RVSD General Manager · ▶ Watch this exchange

Councilmember Margulies pressed on why no technical study backed CMSA's allocation change and why CMSA wouldn't let RVSD's own board chair present an independent engineering report; Mayor Andre asked about retroactive remedies. RVSD's formal ask is for CMSA to commission a neutral third-party study, restore the old formula, repay the overcharges, and restore Larkspur's lost board seat or require a supermajority for major financial votes.

Councilmember Kandell pressed Moore on whether the causes of January's sewage spill had been fully fixed. They haven't, he said — flooding itself can overwhelm any system. The dispute is now at the agency-to-agency stage of a four-step resolution process and comes before CMSA's board on November 10.

Modest addition at 205 Madrone brings a stack of exceptions

The owners of 205 Madrone Avenue are asking the Planning Commission for design review to enclose an existing porch and add a new front landing and stairs — a 125-square-foot addition. Getting there, though, requires four separate approvals at once.

Along with design review, the application seeks a Non-Conforming Structure Exception to alter windows and doors and shift 33 square feet of lot coverage to the new stairs and landing, plus a Floor Area Ratio Exception to build to 0.61 FAR (1,648 sq. ft.) against a code maximum of 0.40 (1,077 sq. ft.) — more than 50 percent over the limit.

The package also includes a Fence Height Exception for a 5-foot-11-inch fence along Madrone Avenue, well above the 42-inch cap the code allows facing a street. No staff recommendation or neighbor comment has been posted yet; the hearing is set for the commission's October 13 meeting.

Wilson Way addition asks for nearly quadruple allowed FAR

A design review application for 93 Wilson Way proposes a modest 122-square-foot addition at the rear of the house — but the lot's zoning makes it a much bigger ask than the square footage suggests.

The property carries a Floor Area Ratio cap of just 0.05, or 600 square feet, far below the citywide norm. The applicant is requesting a Floor Area Ratio Exception to reach 0.19 FAR, or 2,293 square feet — nearly four times what the code allows outright.

No staff recommendation has been published in the agenda packet, and no public comments are on file ahead of the October 13 hearing.