The Marin County Planning Commission voted unanimously June 23 to send the subdivision application for 1501 Lucas Valley Road to environmental review after staff revised an earlier summary-denial recommendation.

County planning staff told commissioners they changed course after receiving late attorney correspondence from the applicant and are now recommending the project be evaluated through CEQA so the county can analyze revised waiver requests — including newly raised grading waivers — and the project in its entirety. "We are recommending that it goes to environmental review," said Manny Barakat, a county planning staff member, explaining the shift in staff recommendation.

Chief Deputy County Counsel Brandon Halter confirmed the record shows the applicant received notice of grading- and roadway-related noncompliance. "The determination that the application is complete does not represent a decision to approve or deny the project," Halter said, adding that completeness does not negate the county's objections to grading standards.

Commissioners and members of the public urged the environmental review to examine a range of safety and technical issues. Commissioner Stepanisic and others singled out grading and retaining walls, traffic and sight-line safety at the proposed access near Mount Muir Court, pedestrian safety, drainage and undersized culverts, and fire access as priorities for study.

Several residents told the commission they expected a substantial CEQA review. "I think it's pretty clear that it's not gonna be exempt," said Neil Sorensen, a Lucas Valley resident, who argued an environmental impact report will likely be required and highlighted fire-protection shortfalls for the site, which he said is outside the Marinwood Community Services District and farther from the nearest county fire station.

Neighbors described anticipated construction impacts and long-term hazards if the subdivision proceeds. Michael Spaulding said the current road and driveway configuration differs from the plans used in the Transportation Impact Study and warned that the proposed left-turn lane and road widening could reduce the buffer between Lucas Valley Road and Mount Muir Court backyards by about 12 feet, potentially affecting trees and sight lines. "There's nothing in the current plans that calls for any attention to pedestrian safety," Spaulding said.

Other commenters pressed on grading, air quality and truck traffic. Rob Scofield, a toxicologist, urged careful review of dust and diesel exhaust from grading. Multiple speakers said the project would require large amounts of earth moved off-site — one resident cited a figure of about 13,000 truckloads — and asked who would pay for downstream road repairs and whether existing insurance coverage would be affected.

Irvin Schwartz, who said he authored Marin County Code Title 24 development standards, urged that the EIR examine deviations the project requests from street-width and driveway-length standards that were adopted for public safety. "We changed the development standards ... so the streets actually curve with the hillside," Schwartz said, urging comparable protections for new residents.

The applicant, represented by Steve Riley, said the team appreciated staff reconsidering the application and had no formal presentation: "We look forward to coming back after the CEQA review is done for the project approval," he said and offered to answer questions.

Commissioners concluded by listing specific topics they expect the environmental review to address, including the extent of cut-and-fill and retaining walls, traffic safety at the Mount Muir Court intersection, pedestrian circulation, drainage sizing and culvert capacity, fire access and evacuation capacity, and vegetation/mitigation plans.

A motion to adopt staff's recommendation and refer the subdivision application to environmental review passed on a unanimous roll-call vote. The environmental coordinator will decide the level of CEQA review (initial study/negative declaration or an environmental impact report); that determination will be appealable to the planning commission. The commission then adjourned.