Op-Ed: Hanna Ranch Decision Lacked Public Input

When the Novato City Council members voted 4-1 in December to for the Hanna Ranch multiuse commercial development near Vintage Oaks shopping center, they basically gave away the floating easement to the developer, Urban One.

Susan Stompe of the Marin Conservation League was right. The floating easement was just handed over to the developer without any community discussion or a public hearing. When Councilmember Pat Eklund repeatedly asked City Manager Michael Frank, who had made the decision, he declined to comment.

The floating easement was the city’s right to use the Hanna Ranch property for access and/or egress. If you look at an aerial photo of Hanna Ranch, you can see it — a dirt road — where it connects to Rowland Way and passes thru Parcel C, continues thru Hanna Ranch and connects to Hanna Ranch Road near Highway 101 and the McPhail’s property. Why any city would decide to give this away to a developer and thus make it a private road instead of a public one is highly questionable, especially since Novato’s general plan calls for Rowland Way to be extended south to Highway 37. 

Who would want to develop or purchase the McPhail property? It will be choked off from the rest of Hanna Ranch and Vintage Oaks. Someone doing business at the proposed McPhail office development property would have to get back on the freeway to access Vintage Oaks or Hanna Ranch.

Other sizable commercial developments such as Vintage Oaks have more than one entrance/exit for safety and traffic concerns.  Potential added revenue from a second entrance at Highway 37 would be lost.

What about mailer notifications? Who owns the McPhail property? Were they notified? What about Costco, the Vintage Oaks owner and merchants, Novato Community Hospital to name a few? Do they all not stand to be impacted by this decision?

Factoring in the safety and well-being of our community, should we not have had a voice in this decision?

After reading Agenda item #9 for the Jan. 24 city meeting with my limited legal language comprehension (see attached), what looks like a Roadway Development and License Agreement with a Prosecution of Quiet Title Action (no clue what this is, but it sure sounds stealthy) ultimately appears to give council members the right to decide the final fate of Parcel C, the city-owned property (.7 acre) that connects Hanna Ranch to Rowland Way. The floating easement passes over this property and continues through Hanna Ranch.

If city property is to be sold, there must be a public hearing.  A project of this magnitude needs to proceed cautiously, thoroughly, fully disclosed, transparent and with public and local (to Hanna Ranch) business input. The city staff and city manager need to be held accountable for answering questions posed by council members and public speakers practicing their civic responsibilities. Safety concerns need to be of the utmost importance.

Public comment at tonight’s meeting begins approximately at 7:15 p.m. and item 9 sometime after.