San Rafael, CA – The Marin County Planning Commission is preparing to review details of a plan to convert existing office space to guest units at Big Rock Ranch, a Nicasio complex owned by George Lucas’ Skywalker Properties.
Big Rock Ranch near Nicasio.
In October 2015, Skywalker Properties submitted a
Master Plan Amendment application to allow for the conversion of 61,162 square feet of Big Rock Ranch’s existing office floor area into 57 guest units. The public will get a chance to learn more at the Planning Commission hearing, scheduled to start at approximately 1:45 p.m. May 9 in the Marin County Board of Supervisors chamber in San Rafael.
Located approximately five miles west of Highway 101 off Lucas Valley Road, the Big Rock Ranch complex includes offices, a cafeteria/dining room, a daycare center, a fitness center, and small store. According to the proposal, filed with the Marin County Community Development Agency (CDA), the planned renovations include guest units, upgrades to the food facilities, expansion of the store, creation of additional meeting areas, expanded spa and fitness rooms and the elimination of the childcare services. According to the Skywalker documents, no additional building area is proposed as part of the project and no exterior changes are proposed to the buildings or site improvements.
The application materials state that one of the goals of the proposal is to provide employees and clients with amenities at Big Rock Ranch that are similar to those provided at nearby Skywalker Ranch, also owned by Lucas. Per Skywalker’s traffic plan, the Big Rock renovations would result in fewer traffic trips than the currently approved office complex use.
The Planning Commission’s role is advisory to the Board of Supervisors, which will make the final decision on the application at a subsequent public hearing.
In addition to documents presented at the Planning Commission meeting, project plans for Big Rock Ranch will be available on the Planning Division’s website within the next week. Complete project information will be available for public viewing at the Planning Division’s office in Suite 308 of the Marin County Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.
Feedback on the Big Rock Ranch project can be emailed to CDA Senior Planner Jocelyn Drake at jdrake@marincounty.org. Planning Commission hearings are webcast live and archived on the County website and shown live on Comcast public access television.