Fairfax planning commission approves preferential parking at 62 Reardon Ave with arborist and water‑meter conditions

The Fairfax Planning Commission on Feb. 20 approved a preferential parking permit to expand an existing parcel parking space at 62 Reardon Avenue, allowing the site to accommodate two vehicles. The motion passed unanimously with conditions that include an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA)‑certified arborist report and a requirement that the expansion stay clear of the eastern neighbor’s water meter.

The permit, Application 25‑01, would extend an existing preferential parking space approved in 1999. Staff told the commission the project would create a roughly 34‑foot long parking area that varies from about 7 to 10 feet in width, expanding off an existing driveway that has an approximately 42 percent slope. Staff said the parking work would require private funds of more than $10,000, consistent with a town resolution adopted shortly after the town’s preferential parking ordinance was enacted in 1984.

Why it matters: Fairfax’s preferential parking ordinance was written in part to address hazardous roadside parking in the town’s hilly areas. Commissioners and neighbors raised public‑safety and operational concerns — including conflicts with nearby mailboxes, narrow roadway pinch points, and the potential need to meet Ross Valley Fire Department standards — and added conditions meant to reduce those risks while allowing the homeowner off‑street parking.

Staff report and agency input

Planning staff summarized the permitting program and the project. Staff said the town’s vehicle and traffic provisions and related preferential parking ordinance lower certain application fees and allow homeowners to construct off‑street spaces within public…