Planning commission finds West Baltimore strip sale consistent with general plan, urges clear easement and protections

The Larkspur Planning Commission on July 8 recommended the City Council proceed with the sale of an 880-square-foot strip of city land between 320 and 330 West Baltimore Avenue, while urging the council to record conditions that protect wildlife and trees and spell out maintenance and access rights.

Staff told the commission the strip contains a drainage run from street to creek and that the proposed sale would allow the adjacent owner to merge lots and clear title. Staff said the city attorney drafted a sales document that includes conditions intended to protect mature heritage trees and a nearby spotted-owl nest.

"We've reviewed the general plan, and there's nothing very specific to selling strips of land under these conditions," staff said, while noting protections for wildlife and heritage trees were included in the draft agreement. The commission asked that any easement or deed restriction be recorded against title so protections travel with the land.

A neighbor and Zoom caller, James Holmes, challenged the valuation and due-diligence behind the proposed price. "The contract price is only $7,500. That seems awfully low," Holmes said, arguing the conveyance gives the buyer development benefit and asking whether the city had inspected the drainage pipe or examined why the city holds the strip in fee rather than as an easement.

Staff responded that an appraisal based on comparative sales of difficult-to-develop parcels had produced the per‑square‑foot figure used to set the price and that the appraisal did not attempt to value the incremental benefit to the specific adjacent owner. Staff and counsel said public-works and city-attorney review would address maintenance access and liability questions and that a draft easement exists and should be reviewed and recorded.

Commissioners pressed for clear language requiring continued city access for maintenance, requirements for keeping the drain clear, and deed-recorded protections for the heritage trees and spotted owl. One commissioner noted that an 8-foot width constrains equipment access and recommended clear maintenance and access terms.

A motion to find the sale consistent with the general plan, while recommending that the council require the easement/deed terms described above and record protections on title, passed on a roll-call vote (4–0). Staff said the City Council will consider the sale and the proposed legal documents next.

Next steps: the commission forwarded its conformance recommendation and requested that staff and the city attorney ensure the council packet includes the recorded-easement language and the appraisal or valuation rationale for the sale.