Corte Madera: We Need An FAR Guideline
Corte Madera is the only town in Central Marin that doesn’t have an FAR ordinance, and the town is at risk of losing the small town charm that has made it so appealing in the first place.
FAR stands for Floor Area Ratio, and determines how many square feet of house an owner can have on his property. Typically, it is a percentage of the lot size. In Mill Valley and Tiburon, it’s 35%; in Larkspur it’s 40%. So on a 6000 square foot lot in Mill Valley, an owner can build nothing larger than 2100 square feet. Sounds reasonable, right?
Not in Corte Madera. In Corte Madera, home size is based on footprint and setbacks, and it is much more liberal. The result is that homes can be much larger relative to the lot size. An extreme example is 256 Sausalito, approved by the Planning Commission earlier this year. The Commission approved a 3900 square foot home on a 6500 square foot lot.
In other words, the McMansions are coming!
Neighbors of 317 Willow are very upset with plans recently submitted for a 2700 square foot house, on a 6000 square foot lot. Understandably so. The lot in question is in Chapman Park, one of the original developments of Corte Madera, and it is characterized by many smaller, cottage style type homes. Neighbors aren’t thrilled about a giant home taking over one of the most prominent corner lots in the area.
Because of the zoning laws, Corte Madera is attracting every developer in the County.
I’m all for exercising property rights, but a little intelligent planning would go a long way. What makes Corte Madera desirable are the neighborhoods, and it’s small town character and charm. It’s why I moved here 16 years ago.
Talk to a Town Council member. Tell them we need an FAR in Corte Madera, now, before it’s too late.
[…] I wrote a few months back about the need for an FAR law in Corte Madera. FAR stands for floor area ratio, and is the ratio of floor area of a residence to the lot size. So if the FAR is 40 %, and the lot size is 7000 feet, the largest allowable home would be 2800 square feet without a variance. […]