On April 30th 2001 the Marin County Community Development Agency and Marin Economic Commission sponsored a speech by:
Stephen Roulac of the Roulac Group
:
Marin’s Economic Future
A discussion on sustaining
the vitality of Marin’s economy
Some summary noted comments from Roulac’s presentation that give you an indication of what he feels Marin needs to sustain economic vitality:
What creates
housing values? Branding, Beauty and
Utility….
Why is Starbuck’s
popular? Because we lack community and
people are searching to find it. People
go to the theater for the same reason…
What does it tell
you about a community when your hard working barber can’t own a house in the
community he works?
In my Roulac
Group, I try to ensure that none of my employees live more that 15 minutes from
work. A forty-five minute commute is
contrary to creativity. A 45 minute
commute shows you have had a lack of vision in how housing and transit has been
put together.
My cost to run an
office and all its infrastructure and employ two highly skilled employees in
Hyderbad, India is less than what it costs me to pay my receptionist here.
What is equity if
you can’t have your own kids and community workers live here, in your
community. What does it tell us about
our community if our kids can’t live here.
Sustainability
requires an economy that makes sense…
Until Marin
establishes a rail based public transportation system it will be voting for
environmental degradation and social inequality…
Marin’s first
requirement is to re-establish light rail transit…
Secondarily, Marin
must close every school parking lot.
Anyone who drives to school doesn’t graduate. Reinstate school buses or the equivalent. Take parents out of the chauffeuring
business. Buying Porsches for sixteen year old
kids is insane.
Essentially
crucial to economics is reducing the cost of getting to places. We need higher density housing. We need walk able public transit.. We are ignoring the best of the past…
If Marin can do
just one thing, it must change it transportation system and bring back
rail. We need radical thinking about
the urban corridor.
More can be learned about the Roulac Group by going to Roulac’s web: www.rooulac,com
His email is experts@roulac.com.
A workshop followed the presentation and the five groups listed the top needs in this general order:
1) Affordable housing
2) Transit solutions
3) Public education need
4) Shortage of buildable land
5) Mixed use building needs
6) Bureaucratic roadblocks to permitting…
A direct transcription of Roulac’s talk and more precise summary of the workshops will be available in early May at the web site: