Scott Ritter

20 Lower Via Casitas #5

Greenbray, CA 94904 415-461-6271

 

 

Mike Spear, Regional Director

U. S. Fish & Wildlife

2800 Cottage Way

Room W-2606

Sacramento, CA 95825

916-414-6464                                                                         May 29, 2001

 

Re:  Proposed Marin Bay Lands Mapping problems

 

Dear Ms. Spear:

 

I was born and raised in Marin County.  For over a dozen years I have been working in the Title and Lending business where I have a very responsible, well paid position.  My job responsibilities require me to travel a great deal, so I know how blessed I am living in one of the nation’s most beautiful counties.  However, beautiful Marin has some problems and I am concerned that your Bay Lands mapping process may exacerbate those problems.  Therefore, although I have never written a government official before I am doing so now.

 

For five plus years I have been looking to buy a home in Marin.  As I mentioned I make good money, but Marin’s $650,000 median home price makes finding an affordable home for even the well endowed a difficult affair.  My step-father was and still is in the home building business.  Due to political pressures and their resultant zoning and density limits he was forced to seldom build affordable units. Marin’s self-described environmental groups helped insure that only expensive homes would be built on the very limited land (about 15% of the County is developable) where Marin allowed units to be built.  Now, not even well-off guys like me can afford to live where we were raised.

 

My questions to which I would like a detailed reply:

1)      Has your Bay Lands Refuge Mapping process been started by input from Marin’s self-described environmental groups that have caused the dearth of affordable housing in Marin?

2)      Are you familiar with how the self-described Marin environmental groups will use this Boundary title to further decrease the delivery of any kind of Marin housing?

3)      How much consideration do you give to the environmental repercussion that result from placing 17,600 acres into a Bay Lands mapping process and thereby making the delivery of  critically needed Marin housing and train/transit solutions extremely difficult?

4)      If the property owners at Canalways, St. Vincent-Silveira and the other lands demand not to be included in the mapping boundary, are their property rights respected and are they left out?

 

Thanks for your prompt attention to this matter.  I look forward to your reply.

 

Sincerely,

 

Scott Ritter

 

Scott Ritter

 

CC:

Gale Norton, Department of Interior

Mel Martinez,U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Julie Bornstein, California Department of Housing

Bill Pavao, California Department of Housing

Mike Spear, Regional Director U. S. Fish & Wildlife

Dan Ashe, U. S. Fish & Wildlife, Refuge Director

San Rafael Chamber,

San Rafael Dredge Committee, Frank Hall       

Congresswoman Woolsey,

Senator Boxer

Senator Feinstein

Supervisor Murray & Marin Board of Supervisors

Bay Planning Coalition

Mayor Al Boro & Council Members

San Rafael Planning Department

Assemblyman Joe Nation

North Bay Agricultural Coalition

Kerner Partners