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Corte Madera council approves vacation of long-dormant Macy’s-area easement to clear path for housing site
Summary
The Town Council voted unanimously May 19 to vacate a 1985 public access easement across the former Macy’s parcel, following staff advice that the easement was obsolete and would impede housing development. Council members sought and received assurances the county’s Tamalpais overcrossing project on public property would not be affected.
The Corte Madera Town Council voted unanimously May 19 to vacate a long-dormant public access easement that staff and developers say has blocked redevelopment of the former Macy’s site.
Staff told the council the easement was created in 1985 to accommodate a possible pedestrian bridge between the village shopping center and the town center but was never built. The staff report and presentation noted the easement occupies roughly a third of the parcel and was not accompanied by developer obligations to construct the bridge. “This is an obsolete public access easement at this time,” a staff representative said, recommending vacation to remove an impediment to housing on the site.
Council members pressed staff to confirm the vacation would not compromise the separate Tamalpais overcrossing project. Staff said the overcrossing is being designed on public Caltrans property and “will be constructed entirely in public property,” and described current Caltrans drawings showing the 15-foot pedestrian connection landing on public right-of-way, not the private Macy’s parcel.
Riley Herd, a land-use attorney appearing during public comment, told the council the easement is “an absolute full stop impediment to being able to develop this property,” saying it covers a substantial portion of the site and was a late discovery in title work. Herd said he supported the staff recommendation.
Council members who spoke during the discussion said they favored moving promptly to clear the title constraint while ensuring no conflict with the overcrossing project. Vice Mayor Casissa moved approval and the council voted yes (Council Members Andrews, Beckman, Avasio/Azio, Vice Mayor Casissa, Mayor Thomas).
The council’s action vacates the public access easement as described in staff materials; staff noted there is no monetary compensation paid to the town when an easement is vacated in this circumstance. Staff also said they would return to the council with additional details this summer, including Caltrans’ 95% plans for the overcrossing.
What’s next: Staff said they will bring materials to the council this summer to show exactly where the Caltrans overcrossing lands, and they expect additional coordination with prospective developers on site design for housing.
(Reporting note: the council packet identifies the property and includes the staff report map for item 4C.)
