San Rafael, CA – After dozens of public meetings over the past three years, and with a Planning Commission recommendation in hand, County of Marin planners are presenting to the Board of Supervisors a draft community plan for the unincorporated Black Point and Green Point neighborhoods near Novato.
The Black Point and Green Point areas are near the Petaluma River east of downtown Novato.
Staff from the
Community Development Agency is recommending the Supervisors to approve the draft plan at its March 8 meeting. However, in recognition of some residents’ desires, the Supervisors could direct staff to prepare separate community plans for the Black Point and Green Point neighborhoods.
“The issue of neighborhood representation appears to be driving a movement to separate the community plan, which has resulted in much neighborhood discord,” Senior Planner Kristin Drumm wrote in the staff report.
Black Point is an unincorporated community along the banks of the Petaluma River and south of Highway 37 just northeast of the Novato city limits. Green Point, a much larger area, is north of Highway 37. Residents of both neighborhoods describe their communities as quiet, peaceful, spacious, rural and beautiful.
The plan is designed to preserve each community’s unique assets while providing reasonable standards for new development. An update of the 1978 Black Point plan began in early 2013 with collaboration between the community advisory committee, County planning staff and other local stakeholders. The draft plan refines existing policies and addresses new issues identified through the public engagement process.
Concerns about home size, particularly in relationship to lot size, were raised as a potential threat to the area’s character as new development mixes in with smaller, older, and more traditional homes. The draft plan also addresses policy options for preserving community character, road maintenance, building setbacks, septic systems, night skies, natural asset protection, sudden oak death, and sea-level rise.
For more information, Drumm at kdrumm@marincounty.org or 415-473-6290.