Marin Scope: January 31 – February 6, 1990

Taking a more careful look at growth

 

Julia Rubenstein

Community Contributor

 

Here in Marin County, new ideological lines are being drawn that blur the traditional party lines. People are less likely to describe themselves (or label their opponents) as Democrats or Re­publicans, but rather as pro- or no-growth, with the latter group carrying a solid majority. This shift is changing alliances as well. Affordable housing advocates and environmentalists, who in the past both occupied the liberal side of the Democratic Party, are now finding themselves at odds over decisions affecting how some of our undeveloped lands should be used.

 

In many cases, committing some of our open space lands to meeting the compelling social goal of providing enough housing for Marin’s future needs is of higher priority than preserving more open space, particularly when more than 84% of the County is permanently protected as open space. This is not to minimize the importance of ef­forts to save especially scenic or ecologically significant parcels, but rather to urge a more discern­ing and discriminating approach to planning open space acquisi­tions.

 

The cause of environmental­ism has reached such epic propor­tions in Marin that the forces of politics and government are lined up solidly in favor of open space protection, and for once it is the would-be developer who’s the un­derdog. Agencies ranging from the Open Space District and BCDC to the planning depart­ments of most of our cities are all looking out for open space in­terests, and now the Marin Con­servation League is pushing for a new Countywide Planning Agen­cy to deal with regional growth issues and transportation.

 

Regional planning is pro­bably a good idea, but only if it includes the proposition that we must protect the human environ­ment as well as the natural one. Overdevelopment of commercial centers, which cities have approv­ed in the move to recapture rev­enues lost from Proposition 13, and under-development of housing stock due to community op­position, have combined to create an imbalance between jobs and housing which upsets the pattern of orderly growth, frustrating planners and commuters alike. While we may not want newcomers despoiling our high quality of life here, we must remember that quality of life in­cludes more than just green hill­sides. Without more housing, we are losing our younger generation to adjacent counties and worsen­ing our commute woes at the same time.

 

The North Bay Transporta­tion Management Association is sponsoring a conference on re­gional land use on February 2nd. There, participants will have the opportunity to discuss sensible ideas for management of our re­maining land resources with state legislators, planners and traffic abandon labels and just try to be good citizens by giving more careful thought to the growth/no growth issue, and look for ways to protect our total environment, not just the natural one.

 

Julie Rubenstein, an at­torney, is a partner in Private Advocates, a public relations and government advocacy firm spe­cializing in land use matters in Marin County,