(see below: Critics, officials howl over country club plan)

$48 million plan for Fairfax site

Tad Whitaker

Article Launched: 06/06/2006 05:03:00 AM PDT

Fairfax could be the site of a $48 million development if the owner of the Marin Town & Country Club gets his way.

The Town Council on Wednesday will discuss selling a half-acre of town property that country club owner Michael Mackintosh says he needs for his proposal.

Mackintosh said he was hesitant to discuss his plans for fear of jeopardizing financing for the project. But former councilman Frank Egger said he plans to bring a crowd to Wednesday's meeting in an attempt to block the project. Egger is a longtime foe of residential development of the site.

"We'll all be there," he said.

Mackintosh, a San Rafael resident, paid close to $5 million in 2002 for the historic 23.5-acre property near Fairfax's downtown after town officials failed to figure out a way to buy the tract.

The country club was one of the most successful resorts in the Bay Area during the 1940s and '50s, with its swimming pools, dance floors and summer cabins, but it fell into disrepair and is now home for tenants in some of the area's most affordable housing.

Mackintosh has brought the 40 housing units up to town code standards, but officials, prompted by Egger, have hammered him with nuisance abatement letters and numerous on-site inspections in search of violations. The situation grew so tense that Mackintosh's tenants once stormed a Town Council meeting and demanded Egger leave him alone.

In the past year, Mackintosh maintained a low profile. Voters, meanwhile,

tossed Egger off the council after more than 40 years in office. A quiet period ensued, but the calm was shattered at a Strategic Planning Committee meeting in February.

Council members, all of whom are on the committee, discussed the site as a possible location for an ecologically friendly hotel, more public open space and a conference center similar to Asilomar, a resort in Monterey with 314 hotel rooms and meeting space for up to 1,000 people.

Meeting minutes indicate Councilman David Weinsoff directed the city attorney to look into seizing the property through eminent domain, although Councilman Larry Bragman countered by saying such a move would be impossible. The committee took no action.

At an April meeting, Mackintosh said he was close to securing a $2 million grant to restore the creek that runs through his property. In addition, he outlined informal plans for razing all of the structures and redeveloping the site.

 

Mackintosh said he wants to build:

- Twenty duplex-style housing units for seniors.

- Twenty single-story units for tenants who live there.

- A full-size grass soccer field.

- A restaurant with tiered decks overlooking the creek.

- A 67,000-square-foot gymnasium with underground parking.

- A museum for art and antique cars.

- A 55-room hotel and two pools, one for adults and the other for children.

Mackintosh said he wants to restore the old dance hall and ballroom, preserve all oak trees and purchase two adjacent lots owned by the town so he can create a bike path.

Town Manager Linda Kelly said Mackintosh displayed master drawings of what the development would look like.

But she noted that Mackintosh has yet to file anything with the city.

"We haven't received anything in hard copy," she said.

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ON THE AGENDA

The Fairfax Town Council will discuss the property request when it meets at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Fairfax Women's Club, 46 Park Road.

Contact Tad Whitaker via e-mail at twhitaker@marinij.com

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Critics, officials howl over country club plan

 

Tad Whitaker

A San Rafael developer's $48 million plan to renovate the Marin Town & Country Club in Fairfax got off to a rocky start this week even though he offered to clean up adjacent land and donate $10,000 toward the purchase of open space. More than 100 people filled the Women's Club on Wednesday night when the Town Council planned to take public comment on club owner Michael Mackintosh's proposal. He attempted to cultivate good will by offering to pay the assessed value for a half-acre of steep town property, clean it up, install a bike path, give all the land back to the town and, finally, donate $10,000 to the town's open space fund.

But with ardent opponent Frank Egger and open space supporters setting the tone in the room, Mackintosh withdrew his offer before the discussion began. All five council members expressed relief at the move and promised to involve the newly created Open Space Committee in decisions regarding the town lots Mackintosh wanted to upgrade.

"This was clearly premature," Councilman Larry Bragman said.

Mackintosh wants to return the dilapidated 23.5-acre property near Fairfax's downtown to its former glory. During the 1940s and 1950s, it was one of the most successful resorts in the Bay Area with swimming pools, dance floors and summer cabins.

Mackintosh said he stepped forward with informal redevelopment plans following several town meetings this spring when officials discussed what they want to see on the tract.

Mackintosh wants to build 20 duplex-style housing units for seniors; 20 single-story units for tenants who live there already; a grass soccer field; a restaurant with tiered decks overlooking the creek; a 67,000-square-foot gymnasium with underground parking; a museum for art and antique cars; a 55-room hotel; and two pools, one for adults and the other for children.

He also wants to restore the creek running through the property, renovate the old dance hall and ballroom, preserve all oak trees and purchase two disputed lots adjacent to his property to create a bike path. There is even a possibility that the underground parking garage could double as a flood basin, allowing officials to divert up to 30 acre feet of water from the creek during an emergency.

"The Marin Town & Country Club should be the jewel of the Ross Valley," he said.

Mackintosh said Egger's idea for a conference center similar to Asilomar - a resort in Monterey with 314 hotel rooms and meeting space for up to 1,000 people - isn't feasible because the town's infrastructure wouldn't support it and there are more pressing needs such as senior housing.

Mackintosh noted that his development would bump the property's tax bill from $80,000 annually to as much as $1.3 million.

"I know we can do better than a huge convention center," he said.

Egger did not respond to Mackintosh's comments regarding the conference center proposal. But he said any town property sale should be subject to a public bidding process, the development should be scrutinized under the California Environmental Quality Act and officials should consider what affect development would have on the watershed.

"The (Dec. 31, 2005) flood has completely changed development," Egger claimed.

After hearing from Open Space Committee Chairman Terry Goyen and several others who were annoyed about not being consulted, Councilman Lew Tremaine pointed out that they received poor legal advice regarding the process.

He said the committee will review the future of the disputed parcels. And, he added, the size and scope of Mackintosh's proposal would trigger a town election.

"This is a decision that will be made by you folks," he said

Contact Tad Whitaker via e-mail at twhitaker@marinij.com

(c) 2006 Marin Independent Journal. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.