Earthquake advisory issued

The California Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council issued an earthquake advisory early this morning. See attached press release from the County of Marin.

Now is a good time to verify your readiness for a disaster by checking your supplies and family preparations.

Halloween Activities

There will be no haunted house in the Pavilion this year, as the volunteers were not able to devote time to it this year. We appreciate all of their efforts on the terrific haunted houses held in the past.

The Chamber will have their traditional Halloween Parade starting at 5 p.m. on Oct. 31st at the Fairfax Theater. Come all ghosts and goblins and join in the fun!

Traffic calming meeting tonight

A Creek Road Bridge area traffic calming subcommittee of the Council will meet tonight, Oct. 29th, in the Women's Club at 7 p.m. The subcommittee members are Council Members Susan Brandborg and Lew Tremaine.

First official customer for electric car charger

Today, we had our first official customer use our electric car charger at Town Hall! Greg Simon of Mill Valley plugged his RAV4 electric vehicle into the charger this afternoon. As was previously reported, the Fairfax Town Council recently agreed to open our existing electric vehicle charger to the public, asking for a donation of $1 per hour of charge. The Town of Fairfax wishes to encourage the development of non-oil dependent fuel sources and is helping to support the infrastructure for the electric vehicles that are currently on the road. Greg told me that he and his wife were planning on visiting Good Earth Natural Foods on their visit to Fairfax today.

Strategic Planning meeting

The Town Council will hold its next Strategic Planning meeting tomorrow, Saturday, October 27th from 9:30 a.m. to Noon in the Women's Club. Documents for the meeting are posted here http://www.townoffairfax.org/StrategicPlanning/StrategicPlans/

Flood Mitigation Planning Meeting

The second public community workshop for the Town's flood mitigation planning project has been set for Thursday, November 29th from 7-9 p.m. in the Women's Club. A detailed meeting notice will be posted on our website within the next few weeks.

The Town has hired Paula Schulz of Natural Hazards Mitigation to help formulate the Town's flood hazard mitigation plan, a planning document which assists in prioritizing our flood planning activities and funding. The Town received a FEMA planning grant for this project.

Candidates' Night announcement

I have been asked by the League of Women Voters to post the following notice:

Fairfax Candidates Night for the Town Council

Thursday, October 25, 2007

7:30 p.m.

Women’s Club, Park Road, Fairfax

Listen to and question all candidates for the Town Council.

Moderated by the League of Women Voters of Marin County

For further information, please contact Rose Taber at 453-1851.

Town Council Actions from Oct. 17th

1. 183 Frustuck Avenue; Appeal # 07-28 - Appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of a Hill Area Residential Development Permit, Excavation Permit and Encroachment Permit to construct a 3,050sf single-family residence, a 610sf garage and a 134sf utility room for a total square footage of 3,794sf single-family residence (includes a 610sf garage); Assessor’s Parcel No. 003-193-13; Residential Single-family RS 6 Zone; Shane Deal, owner; Niccolo Caldararo, appellant; CEQA categorically exempt, § 15303(a); Adoption of Resolution No. 2513, A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Fairfax regarding the Decision on Appeal No. 07-28 (continued from 9-19-07): The Council heard the continued appeal and denied the appeal, which allows the project to move forward to the next phase of design.

2. A Proclamation declaring Sunday, October 21^st, 2007, as Take a Step For Marin Abused Women’s Services to honor MAWS on the occasion of their 30^th anniversary, Brandborg: Council adopted the proclamation.

3. Adoption of Resolution No. 2516, A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Fairfax Adopting the Police Department Plan to Allocate Funds for The Citizens Option for Public Safety (COPS) Program for 2007-2008: Council adopted the resolution, allowing for continued Federal funding which supports our Police Department with $100,000 per year.

4. Introduction and First Reading of Ordinance No. 725, A Social Host Liability Ordinance for Underage Drinking, Maggiore: Council introduced and held first reading of the ordinance, which would penalize parents, minors and/or other individuals hosting parties where underage drinking of alcoholic beverages is taking place. Council directed staff to increase the fines as follows: 1^st offense - $750; 2^nd offense - $875; 3^rd offense - $1,000; and to add community service as an option to pay off the fine.

5. Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance No. 723 amending Ordinance No. 721 to permit the use of tandem parking for the second unit amnesty period only, Brandborg: Council held second reading and adopted the ordinance, which is intended to encourage the legalization of second units.

6. Status Report on Wall Property, Tremaine: Council heard from the many community members present regarding the desire to keep the property as open space. Residents explained the issue of landslides on the property as well as homeless encampments on the property. There was a general consensus that the community needed to work together to find a creative way to acquire the land as dedicated open space. Council directed staff to bring back the Ridgeline Protection Ordinance for amendment and to create an overlay map showing both the ridgeline resources and Town streets. The Open Space Committee is to collaborate with the community, Council, the Town of San Anselmo and the County of Marin on acquiring the property.

7. Discussion and consideration of the adoption of Resolution No. 2517, A Resolution of Intention of the Fairfax Town Council to initiate an amendment to Chapter 17.020 of the Fairfax Town Code to include design criteria encouraging the use of sustainable construction and landscaping (Recommended by the Design Review Board): Council adopted the resolution and directed staff to fully develop the ordinance specifying the design criteria integrating sustainable practices.

8. Status report and discussion about the Ross Valley Sanitary District’s sewer replacement project that runs from the end of Meadow Way along Cascade Creek to Bolinas Road, and coordination of utility district projects, Bragman: Mayor Bragman explained that the Ross Valley Sanitary District had a large project which included the creation of a road where none previously existed and that their project was resulting in habitat damage to the creek. Staff was directed to inform the Ross Valley Sanitary District to send all notices of projects to the Town Manager and to Public Works, to inform them that the Town expected the area to be fully restored after the project and to receive assurances that the mitigation work will happen.

9. Request from Electric Auto Association to allow public access to the Town’s small paddle inductive electric car charger: Council adopted the Town Manager’s recommendation to allow public access to the charger, as a means of supporting alternative fuel vehicles in Town.

New Public Works Director appointed

We are pleased to announce that Michael Rock has been appointed as our new Public Works Director. Click to read the press release.

GoSolar Marin

This is an update message from an effort called GoSolar Marin:

A wonderful thing happened has happened since we announced GoSolarMarin less than a month ago. The possible discounts of 20-30% for installations have struck a responsive chord with homeowners throughout Marin County and the potential numbers of interested homeowners have whetted the appetites of several providers. We believe going solar will benefit the environment, add value to our homes, and reduce our electric bills. So we'd like to ask you to help spread the word because the more homeowners who sign up, the better it will be for all of us who want to turn Marin County into a solar power role model.

If you would like more information, please contact Lisa at gosolarmarin@yahoo.com or 415-847-0900.

Creek Clean up

What's all that stuff? It's the trash we pulled out of the creek on Sunday at the Fairfax Volunteers' Annual Creek Clean-up. About 25 people spent 3 hours clearing debris out of our creeks and here's the fruit of our labors. A great visual reminder to care for our environment.

Council Agenda for Oct 17th meeting

Click to view the Council agenda for next Wednesday's meeting. The packet items are posted here (click link below): http://www.townoffairfax.org/TownCouncil/TownCouncilPacket/

Annual Halloween Parade

See the flyer for details on this year's parade, sponsored by the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce!

Creek Road Bridge Repair Update

The attached letter is being mailed to all residents in the area affected by the temporary closure of Creek Road Bridge.

Events this weekend!

Take part in community-building this weekend at two events where you can meet your neighbors and help our Town.

Open Space Pancake Breakfast
The Fairfax Open Space Committee invites everyone to a pancake breakfast fundraiser for open space on Saturday, October 13th from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Fairfax Women's Club. Tickets at the door are $10 for adults, $4 for children under 12 and $20 for a family of four. Enjoy a delicious organic pancake breakfast, music by Miss Kitty and the Native American Drummers. For more information, contact Committee member Jack Judkins at 456-5503.

Annual Volunteer Creek Clean-up
Fairfax Volunteers will be once again be coordinating our annual creek clean-up on Sunday, Oct. 14th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers will meet at the Youth Center at 16 Park Road that morning, and then be sent out to the areas of the creek that need attention. Volunteers will enjoy coffee and scones donated by Chad’s Grill the morning of the event, and pizza and sodas donated by Ghiringhelli’s following the clean up at 1:00 p.m. Questions may be directed to Maria Baird, Community Resources Coordinator, at 456-5652.

Teen Improv Workshop at Fairfax Library Oct. 27th

The Fairfax Library is hosting a Teen Improv workshop for teenagers on Saturday, October 27th from 1:30-6 p.m. The event includes dinner and a performance for family and friends. Led by Jeffrey Weissman, actor, teacher and director. Call the Fairfax Library to enroll, 457-5629.

Council Actions from Oct. 3rd Meeting

The Town Council took the following actions at its meeting last night, Oct. 3rd:

Approved of plans and specifications and authorization to advertise for bids for Pastori Avenue Measure K project. This is a grind and overlay of Pastori Avenue, which includes asphaltic concrete grinding, furnishing and installing of 2” of asphaltic concrete overlay, and pavement markings. The work will be performed in conjunction with the Center Boulevard Redesign Project in order to coordinate the work and obtain the best pricing.

Awarded bid to responsible lowest bidder, Republic ITS, for flashing pedestrian crossing project on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard at Oak Tree Lane. The project will connect the new Manor Circle pedestrian and bicycle bridge with a safe route to cross Sir Francis Drake, improving access to the bus stop at Oak Tree Lane and to and from Manor Elementary School. The majority of funding for the project is being provided by a Hazard Elimination Safety grant.

Received the monthly storm damage recovery update on Town FEMA projects, including the six creek-related projects: Peri Park Pedestrian Bridge; Creek Road Bridge; Glen Drive Culvert; Cascade Drive Culvert; Pastori Storm Drain Outfall and Peri Park Tennis Courts. On Creek Road Bridge, we have the following to announce. The project has been delayed for 18 months while the Town awaited permits from the multiple environmental agencies that safeguard the creek for steelhead, coho salmon and the red legged frog. Those permits were only recently granted six weeks ago. We have filed appeals on the scope of work and we have enlisted the support of our State and Federal elected officials in hopes of moving this project forward. Currently, the project is stalled since the scope of work approved by FEMA still does not match the estimate of what our engineers and the environmental permitting agencies have informed us is required. As such, FEMA’s estimate is a few hundred thousand dollars short of the actual funding needed to repair the bridge to its pre-disaster state. Once all of the remaining issues between the Town, OES and FEMA are resolved, the earliest the Town could work on repairs to the bridge is July 15, 2008 due to environmental permitting requirements. The state of disrepair of Creek Road Bridge is not a situation the Town of Fairfax wants to see continue, and we are working to expedite the approval process in order to move forward with the repair as quickly as possible.

Adopted Resolution No. 2515 increasing the authorization of the Town Manager to award contracts up to $435,000 for the Emergency Watershed Project at 82 and 88 Creek Road. This is a special project being funded by a Federal and State program to mitigate flood damage to creek front properties.

Discussed amending the Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program ordinance, to restrict residential car washing to further prevent polluting runoff into the storm drains, at the request of Council Member Brandborg. Following discussion and public input, Council decided to have Council Member Brandborg and Mayor Larry Bragman work on drafting an ordinance incorporating best practices guidelines for runoff water from car washing, which would encourage practices that do not harm wildlife in the creeks, and to not establish any criminal penalties associated with car washing practices.

Held introduction and First Reading of Ordinance No. 723 amending Ordinance No. 721 to permit the use of tandem parking for the second unit amnesty period only, at the request of Council Member Brandborg. The intent is to encourage the legalization of second units by allowing for more flexible parking arrangements.

Discussed and considered an ordinance restricting the use of leaf blowers, at the request of Vice Mayor Maggiore. Following discussion, Council requested that the Police Chief provide a report of noise ordinance complaints and recommendations for amending the noise ordinance to revisit and consider hours of operation for power equipment.

Received a report from Joint Fairfax-San Anselmo Shared Services Subcommittee, by Council Members Brandborg and Tremaine. Following discussion, Council directed staff to ascertain from San Anselmo if there was an interest in hiring a consultant to study cost savings with respect to shared police services.

Received an update on 300 Olema Road creek restoration and flood mitigation project. The project is on hold as we negotiate with the property owner and the neighboring property owner over parking space issues.

California's Water Crisis

The Association of California Water Agencies has launched a public information campaign on the impending water crisis in our state. The agency states, "For the first time in the state’s history, the water supply and delivery system may not be able to meet our growing needs. At the same time, critical environmental resources are in peril. From aging infrastructure to population growth to climate change, we face a complex set of problems that threaten the future of California’s population, economy and environment." For more information, visit http://www.calwatercrisis.org/.