Will An FAR Affect Corte Madera Property Values?
The Corte Madera Planning Commission met last night for a Study Session on evaluating a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) standard for residential development.
The Planning Department Staff provided an excellent overview of the situation, including definitions (”FAR” means gross floor area of all structures on a site divided by the net area of the land) and numerous examples of buildings in town that have FAR’s that are high, with some as high as 84%!
The house pictured above has an FAR of 67% - 4000 square feet of house on a lot that is 7,492 square feet. For perspective, Mill Valley limits FAR to 35% on lots under 8000 square feet.Tiburon does the same for lots less than 7500 square feet. Larkspur is higher, at 40%, but then has a formula to reduce it for slope of the lot. Either way, few of the numerous examples the staff showed would been allowed to be built had an FAR law similar to one in the surrounding towns been in effect.
I spoke at the end of the meeting in favor of the law. As noted earlier, I believe it is important to help preserve the neighborhood quality we have in many areas of Corte Madera. One of the commissioners asked if I thought the change would depress real estate values. I emphatically told them no, it would not, pointing out that Mill Valley, Tiburon, and Larkspur all have higher real estate values than Corte Madera, and it does not appear to have hurt their values.
Long term, I really believe property values will only go higher in Corte Madera neighborhoods like Chapman Park, Madera Gardens, and Christmas Tree Hill if this ordinance goes into effect. It will only make property more valuable. What do you think?
Next meeting on this issue is February 27,2007, when Staff will present a survey of FAR regulations from nearby jurisdictions. If you care about Corte Madera, and you care about your property values, this is a great meeting to come to.
