What happened to the Village Association’s Appeal to the Coastal Commission?
Before discussing the Village Association’s Appeal to the Coastal Commission we should all raise a toast to two stalwart members of our community—Catherine Caufield and Bridger Mitchell--who spent hundreds of hours, and added a whole lot of genius to fashion a powerful Appeal and an excellent response to the Commission staff’s report.
And a heartfelt thanks to Association members and the hundreds of residents and businesses who signed petitions, wrote letters, attended hearings and gave money to allow us to make the issue visible and to have a presence at the Planning Commission, the Board of Supervisors and the Coastal Commission.
Our Appeal made many points. A key one centered on two provisions in the Local Coastal Program clearly designed to protect the character of local economies: a size limit on convenience stores at a gas station, and a discouragement of chain stores.
The question of “community character” played an important role in our case. For example, the LCP’s size limit on convenience stores can be raised only if it does “not conflict with the predominant character of the area surrounding the service station.”
Point Reyes Station’s community character grows out of its unusual social and economic ecosystem. Businesses are overwhelmingly independent and largely locally owned. About half the residents own their homes. A large percentage of those who don’t are long-term renters.
This rootedness of both businesses and residents has led to a high degree of interaction and engagement which in turn has generated an unusually high level of social entrepreneurship. To a remarkable degree our community has identified a need and created or enabled institutions to meet that need. Consider the Dance Palace, the Coastal Health Alliance, Walnut Place and CLAM, to name a few.
Started 20 years ago, CLAM has already created about 50 units of affordable housing. Soon the total will rise to over 100, 50 times more than are being offered by Redwood Oil.
That same spirit of community that has led to so much affordable housing also generated a fierce opposition to a large chain store that threatens local businesses and the community itself. The convenience store may well capture over $1 million that otherwise would go to local food-related businesses. Some 95 percent of local businesses signed a petition in protest. Over 400 members of the larger community signed a similar petition. A community that had excelled at creating affordable housing should have been given serious consideration when it said the size of the store threatened it. At a minimum local governments should have demanded evidence that the housing couldn’t be built without a large convenience store. They didn’t. The Planning Commission did listen to the community. It cut in half the proposed size and concluded, “An oversized convenience store at this location is inconsistent with the special character and visitor appeal of downtown Point Reyes Station… These findings are based on substantial evidence, including significant public comment.” - con’td
Background:
On July 30th, the Board of Supervisors approved Redwood Oil’s application to build a large convenience store at the current gas station. At the Planning Commission, the Village Association had gained significant victories: the elimination of the 1000-gallon propane tank that would have been used to refuel large vehicles; the acceptance of the legal requirement to maintain both existing units as affordable housing; the retention of significant historical characteristics of the building. The Planning Commission also unanimously approved the Association’s proposal to reduce the size of the proposed convenience store by more than half in keeping with the maximum size allowed by the Coastal Commission code, but the Supervisors approved Redwood Oil’s outsized store.
What We Do
The Point Reyes Station Village Association (PRSVA) provides a forum for community members to raise, organize, and take action on matters that concern the present and future life of Point Reyes Station.
The Village Association also offers a quasi-local governance mechanism to guide future planning decisions in Point Reyes Station under the Point Reyes Station Community Plan, including reviewing use permits in the Point Reyes Station Planning Area submitted to the County of Marin Community Development Agency, Planning Division.
The Community Plan was created in 1976 by the County of Marin and locals and is the primary document used by the town to evaluate proposed changes to its historical character and community life. Whenever a project is proposed in an area, the Marin County government provides us with copies of the plans so that they can review and respond. The Point Reyes Station Village Association has advised Marin County and the California Coastal Commission since 1974.
We are in partnership with Dark Sky West Marin, a community-led initiative dedicated to preserving the night sky in this environmentally rich and uniquely biodiverse region and formed by West Marin citizens, County Supervisor Dennis Rodoni, in collaboration with the Point Reyes National Seashore.
Monthly Meetings
Hybrid meetings occur the second Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Dance Palace Community Center (Church Space), 503 B St, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956, and online via Zoom. All are welcome.
Image courtesy of the Marin County Free Library.
Stewardship
We care about the future of Point Reyes Station.
Everybody loves Point Reyes Station, called the "West Coast Martha's Vineyard – only better" by the New York Times, "Top Adventure Town" by National Geographic, "Motion-Picture-Perfect" by Travel and Leisure, and one of the "10 Best Small Towns in America" by Men's Journal.
But for any well-loved small town attractive for its authenticity and rural heritage, nurturing change while preserving its culture requires care and diligence. Stewardship is the purpose of the Point Reyes Station Village Association.
