Smart[sic] growth in Marin

WinCup: photo by Frankie Frost

From Planning for Reality in Marin County:

...Supporters of high density, transit oriented development, including Wall Street banks, developers, builders unions, and social equity activists reap benefits from the very policies they helped shape, like California Senate Bill 375, ABAG’s Plan Bay Area, and the Marin County Housing Element. These financiers and activists mask their motivations behind claims of social justice and combating whatever else is ailing the planet.

These special interests have helped formulate policy such as Plan Bay Area, housing quotas, Climate Action Plans and Housing Elements in a bubble---a bubble removed from the input of residents who might be concerned about foundational flaws in the thinking---such as transit emits less greenhouse gases than cars (disproven by facts covered by this Planning for Reality article).

This policy-formulation bubble was also removed from what sacrifices residents might be willing to make to achieve these special interests goals---such as diverting money from roads to other transport modes, despite these modes declining in usage after increasing investments. Or imposing developments such as WinCup across Marin in the hope that the new residents work in Marin or a disproportionate number will take transit---more flawed thinking. 

Recently I emailed an ABAG employee to understand how Priority Development Areas (PDAs) are rescinded. Using LinkedIn, I discovered that he was a former employee of Urban Habitat, the social equity advocacy group that filed suits against Pleasanton and Menlo Park when they failed to meet the state’s [Regional Housing Need Allocation]RHNA quota. A similar suit by Legal Aid of Marin and Public Advocates, Inc. caused Corte Madera to buckle to pressure, allowing the monstrous Win Cup to be built.

I discovered that the planner overseeing the Marin County Housing Element is a director of the Marin Workforce Housing Trust, a multi-million dollar non-profit funded in part by the Marin Community Foundation with a mission of supporting the approval of housing projects...

The backstory on the Wincup development in Corte Madera. 

See also Citizen Marin. 

Smart[sic] growth planned near dumb Smart system rail station in Larkspur.