For the past several months, TPL has been listening to residents of the San Geronimo Valley and other community stakeholders, and documenting their feedback regarding future uses for the San Geronimo property. Feedback methods have included informal conversations with the project team, comment emails and proposals to the project website, and interactive engagement at workshops and other events.
Prior to the workshop in January, we had reached a point in the process where we were beginning to hear similar ideas. We organized them according to several broad themes: Restoration, Recreation, Fire Safety and Climate Resilience, Regenerative Land Management Practices, Community, and Other.
This visioning workshop was the next step in the Reimagine San Geronimo process, where we introduced opportunities and constraints that will inform planning for future uses on the property. Over 70 people attended the workshop, representing a diverse range of interests and perspectives. The project team designed an interactive exercise with the purpose of creating a preliminary vision for the property. Participants gathered in groups of seven to eight people around ten tables, and each table worked with a base map (pictured above) of the property to build consensus around suitability and placement of uses for the property.
While the property is large at 157 acres, only so many activities or programs can physically fit onto the land. Importantly, both TPL’s mission values, and values identified by the community, will guide what happens with the property; these are: ecological restoration, public recreation, fire safety, connectivity and access to the property, community, and financial feasibility. These values serve as site planning frameworks, outlined below. Each team was asked to ideologically align their vision with the frameworks, respond to physical limitations, and consider financial feasibility.
Site Planning Frameworks
- Restoration and Ecological Management: Prioritize restoration activities that enhance the region’s biodiversity and climate resiliency, and maximize the opportunity to restore the Bay Area’s last great salmon run in the greater Lagunitas Creek watershed.
- Recreation: Continue to provide and expand upon passive recreational opportunities on the property, while supporting the health of its ecological resources.
- Access & Connectivity: Ensure safe access for all and better connectivity to adjacent public lands through a regional trail network.
- Community: Support opportunities to create a social and community hub and related amenities on the property.
- Fire Safety: Support fire-safety for the Valley by making space for a new fire station and ensuring that the uses of the property are consistent with fire safety management.
- Partnerships and Funding: Create a vision that is financially feasible, creates opportunities for strategic partnerships, and furthers conservation, land stewardship, and public access objectives.
At the end of the visioning exercise, each table presented key aspects of their vision to the larger group.
Some of the key themes that emerged at the end of the interactive exercise are as follows:
- San Geronimo Creek Restoration: There was broad support for restoration of San Geronimo Creek and the Coho Salmon habitat, but participants wanted clarity on the footprint of the restoration project and which other uses would be compatible with restoration.
- Fire Station: Participants also supported relocation of the Marin County fire headquarters, currently located in Woodacre. The fire station footprint ranges from 3-5 acres. Suggested locations for the fire station included the northern portion of the property on the front nine, accessed by Sir Francis Boulevard and options for splitting the footprint of the headquarters. There was a preference for not locating the fire station on the clubhouse parcel, with only 2 out 10 groups exploring an option with the fire house on the clubhouse parcel.
- Multi-use trails: Participants strongly supported multi-use trails especially to provide safe routes to school.
- Regenerative Land Management Practices/Land Stewardship: Specifically, we heard feedback on regenerative grazing and using permaculture principles in our work.
- Community Hub: There was a strong consensus overall that the clubhouse should continue to serve as a community amenity and the 24-acre clubhouse parcel should be prioritized for fulfilling social functions.
- Public Art
After months of listening to and recording community and stakeholder feedback regarding future uses of the property, the next step is to develop a Vision Document that will guide future owners and managers of the land. The themes identified at this visioning workshop will be considered and incorporated where appropriate, given the site planning frameworks, into the Vision Document.