Marin Independent-Journal
May 30, 2009
Diligent Stewards
I am writing to publicly express thanks to Phil Moyer and members of the Homestead Valley Land Trust Board for their passionate and enduring work of maintaining Homestead Valley’s public trails and open space. I found it interesting that letter writers from as far away as Novato wrote that the Land Trust members quoted in a recent article about a land dispute did not represent their Homestead neighbors. The Homestead Valley Land Trust Board unequivocally speaks for me, as I’m sure it does for many of my neighbors who use the local trails daily and who continually and overwhelmingly vote to support Land Trust efforts through our parcel taxes.
Marin’s unique mix of homes abutting open space, patchwork jurisdictions, hubris and wealth has created a “perfect storm” of land-use conflicts, many of which have flared up in recent weeks. The San Rafael City Council recently overrode a Peacock Gap homeowner’s desire to encroach onto open space. The largest crowd in recent memory attended a Mill Valley City Council meeting to discuss a homeowner/open space dispute. I’m extremely grateful that my community has such diligent stewards as the Homestead Valley Land Trust Board, and the Mill Valley Steps, Lanes and Paths group, so that our taxpayer-supported trails and open space can continue to be enjoyed -- as well as used during emergencies -- by the many, as opposed to the few.
Suz Lipman
Homestead Valley