B. NEW OWNERSHIP AND VISION FOR THE FUTURE

Founded in Marin County in 1972, the mission of The Trust for Public Land is to create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. The project that launched the organization – the protection of Gerbode Valley in the Marin Headlands, just above Rodeo Beach – gave rise to the 82,000-acre Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Since its inception, The Trust for Public Land has completed over 5,000 conservation and park projects across the United States, and over 750 projects in California, protecting 3.7 million acres of land. This includes over 30 projects in Marin County that have added nearly 10,000 acres to Marin’s national park, county park, and local park systems.

Continuing its commitment to save land for people to enjoy, The Trust for Public Land acquired the 157-acre San Geronimo property in early 2018, after the prior owners indicated a desire to sell the golf course and the County identified an opportunity to protect its natural resources, provide public access and other benefits, and avoid development into a private spa, lodge, or hotel. The Trust for Public Land similarly recognized the property’s high restoration and public values. In the spring of 2019, after months of conversation with community members and diverse stakeholders across the County, The Trust for

Public Land convened an extensive community engagement process to develop a vision for the property, consistent with its conservation and public access objectives.

At the outset of this process, The Trust for Public Land outlined three essential goals:

1. Advance The Trust for Public Land’s mission to protect land for people.

2. Recover The Trust for Public Land’s financial investment in the property.

3. Ensure the property’s long-term stewardship and sustainability.

Along with project goals, The Trust for Public Land established the following principles to guide the development of this Vision.

Guiding Principles

Protect

• Preserve rural Valley character

• Protect open space and habitat

• Prioritize fire resilience

• Provide safe access to schools

Connect

• Ensure public access for all

• Connect people and nature

• Integrate area preserves

• Promote sense of community

Restore

• Restore streams and salmonids

• Enhance habitat and corridors

• Promote climate resilience

• Sustain and enhance biodiversity

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT AND USE, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, AND COMMUNITY STEWARDSHIP

As current owners of the San Geronimo Commons property, The Trust for Public Land is committed to managing the property for ecological and public benefit, taking steps to ensure a safe and healthy transition from manicured golf course to thriving, natural open space. Management priorities include ecological restoration, climate and fire resilience, and conservationcompatible recreational access. Since its purchase of the property in early 2018, the Trust for Public Land has opened the San Geronimo Commons to the public for recreational activities such as walking, bicycling, picnicking, bird watching, and the quiet enjoyment of nature. The Commons is becoming an important public resource and served as a respite to the community during the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020.

In addition, the Trust for Public Land has supported active creek and fish restoration on the property, for example, allowing a long-planned project to remove the Roy’s Pools fish barrier on San Geronimo Creek – the highest priority fish passage removal. Working with both the Marin County Fire Department and an outside fire expert, The Trust for Public Land has developed fuel management standards and a fuel management plan for the property, and is implementing recommended actions. A three-year invasive species management plan for the property that will prioritize weed management in sensitive areas is also under development.

It is anticipated that portions of the Larsen Meadow and San Geronimo

Meadow parcels will return to broad valley-bottom riparian areas flanked by a blend of native and naturalized grassland and oak savanna communities that provide wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, and fuel management values as appropriate. Throughout the planning process, The Trust for Public Land and its partners have undertaken land management and restoration efforts in keeping with this expectation. The Clubhouse parcel, which accommodates a broader range of community and recreational uses, is being more actively managed, as are the areas immediately adjacent to existing cart paths and roads.

Through the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic and fire season of 2020, the property’s clubhouse building and adjacent grounds and open space areas served as safe (socially distanced) administrative space for Marin County Fire Department staff, and as an Incident Command Center and base camp for federal and local firefighters responding to the Woodward Fire in the Point Reyes National Seashore in West Marin.

Additionally, under The Trust for Public Land’s ownership, the property has hosted a variety of community-serving activities, such as educational summer camps, school cross-country meets, community blood drives, Covid-19 testing and vaccination pop-up sites, a drive-through food pantry for local residents, and art installation projects.