The following letter has been sent to the Trust for Public Land with regard to Measure D and the San Geronimo golf course land.
Dear TPL,
I want apologize to you on behalf of my county of Marin (people and government). In 2017, with little public discussion, the Marin County supervisors recklessly voted to buy the 157-acre parcel in San Geronimo for an ill-advised price of $8.8 million, but then didn’t follow through.
As the Marin IJ recently wrote, “All that left TPL holding the bag.”
The Supervisors’ dishonesty does not reflect the character of the people of Marin, but it exposes our continual failure to put our best into public office.
Now we have Measure D, which intends to put expensive bureaucratic hurdles in place in front of every direction besides golf. This is a second slap in the public’s and TPL’s face.
As a member of the Fairfax Open Space Committee, I have learned that most conservation projects involve expensive real estate. Often these projects can only be achieved with the help of experienced open space charities like the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, Marin Open Space Trust, TPL and others.
The real impactful issue in Measure D is our treatment of a reputable open space charity. If measure D passes, it will send a signal to open space charities that Marin no longer values conservation.
If Measure D passes, will these organizations come back again to help improve our environment? I advise the community to vote “No” on Measure D.
Sincerely,
Charles Cornwell
Longtime Fairfax Resident