Who We Are
Friends of Kentfield Kids and Creeks are concerned residents advocating for the kids, schools, creeks, and local community being negatively impacted by the new College of Marin Maintenance and Operations Facility in Kentfield. You can show your support by sharing this information and joining us.
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Summary of the Issue
The College of Marin (COM) is currently building a new Maintenance and Operations facility on a former playing field adjacent to Kent Middle School and the Corte Madera Creek. However, they never disclosed to the public that they plan to change the site to industrial uses, including the collection and transfer of trash, storage of hazardous materials, and a fleet yard for the maintenance vehicles and equipment for the entire COM Kentfield campus. They did not disclose these intended uses but claimed that the new facility would cause "no significant impact" in order to avoid conducting an Environmental Impact Review (EIR) which would have include a full environmental assessment, detailed disclosures, public review, and a potential mitigation plan.
Our Community Deserves Better
College of Marin needs to immediately stop the project. The College should fully disclose and assess the planned use of the site, and allow for public review. They must ensure a detailed plan is in place to mitigate any potential impacts to the 600+ students at Kent Middle School and the Corte Madera Creek watershed.
In summary, we demand that College of Marin:
In summary, we demand that College of Marin:
- Stop the project immediately.
- Conduct an independent Environmental Impact Report based on the real intended uses.
- Commit to mitigating all potential impacts.
- If necessary, move some or all of the intended operations to another more appropriate site.
Photo: Site of the College of Marin Maintenance and Operations Facility Adjacent to Kent Middle School
DETAILS
Deceptive Approval Process
College of Marin gave itself a waiver from doing an Environmental Impact Report claiming that the new facility was not going to cause any significant impact to the environment. The finding was based on a document that provided absolutely no information about what the site would be used for. The document lacked the following disclosures:
Incompatible Planned Uses
Soon after the filing of the lawsuit, it emerged that the College of Marin has had very specific plans for the Maintenance and Operations Facility that were never disclosed to the public or Kentfield School District. The plans included:
Scale and Proximity to Schools and the Creek
Please keep in mind that this is not a construction issue anymore. This facility is planned to be operational in February 2020 and will continue to be used for the next 50 years. It will operate adjacent and within 1000 feet of:
If you haven’t already, we strongly recommend that you go to this site to see the situation in person. We are also sharing recent photos of the new building structures that were taken in late December 2019. It is not necessary to be an environmental or design expert to see that the scale and proximity of the new facility will greatly impact the two nearby schools, the creek, and the surrounding neighborhood.
College of Marin has already lost a lot of goodwill in Marin because of some other projects they developed without proper review and approval. The college has lost credibility in the Marin courts as other recent suits have shown. Also, their campus master plan calls for additional construction in our local community using the $265 million Measure B bond money that we recently approved.
We think it is important that College of Marin stop this project and address this issue head on. They should publicly disclose how they intend to use this facility and prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) which is clearly necessary. Any potential issues should be mitigated, including potentially moving certain operations to another part of their campus where they won’t impact 600 middle school children and an important creek watershed.
If you agree, please join in support of our efforts and help spread the word about this situation.
--Friends of Kentfield Kids and Creeks
www.KentfieldKidsAndCreeks.org
College of Marin gave itself a waiver from doing an Environmental Impact Report claiming that the new facility was not going to cause any significant impact to the environment. The finding was based on a document that provided absolutely no information about what the site would be used for. The document lacked the following disclosures:
- No information about what kind of materials might be stored at the site.
- No information about the purpose of the facility other than “storage and offices”.
- No acknowledgement that the site is directly adjacent to two public education facilities (Kent Middle School and the Marin County Education Office Grant Grover School for disabled adult education and youth speech support).
Incompatible Planned Uses
Soon after the filing of the lawsuit, it emerged that the College of Marin has had very specific plans for the Maintenance and Operations Facility that were never disclosed to the public or Kentfield School District. The plans included:
- Parking, storage and operation areas for all College of Marin Kentfield maintenance equipment and trucks that likely run on diesel fuels. The site would become a fleet operations yard with engines starting up and idling, creating exhaust fumes and noise (including backup beepers) throughout the school day when children are outdoors playing and in the classrooms with windows open.
- Storage of hazardous materials (chemicals, solvents, paints, pesticides, fuel, etc.) to support all of College of Marin's Kentfield campus operations.
- Collection, storage, sorting, and transfer of ALL trash and recyclables for College of Marin Kentfield campus. Marin Sanitary would also conduct garbage collection at this site.
Scale and Proximity to Schools and the Creek
Please keep in mind that this is not a construction issue anymore. This facility is planned to be operational in February 2020 and will continue to be used for the next 50 years. It will operate adjacent and within 1000 feet of:
- Two schools where over 600 kids and their teachers spend their days.
- Corte Madera Creek where there are sensitive species and habitats that are also subject to flooding.
- Public walking and biking paths that run along the creek which countless people use every day.
- Kentfield's McAllister neighborhood where many families with kids reside.
- Playing fields used for sports year-round on both the north and south side of this facility.
If you haven’t already, we strongly recommend that you go to this site to see the situation in person. We are also sharing recent photos of the new building structures that were taken in late December 2019. It is not necessary to be an environmental or design expert to see that the scale and proximity of the new facility will greatly impact the two nearby schools, the creek, and the surrounding neighborhood.
College of Marin has already lost a lot of goodwill in Marin because of some other projects they developed without proper review and approval. The college has lost credibility in the Marin courts as other recent suits have shown. Also, their campus master plan calls for additional construction in our local community using the $265 million Measure B bond money that we recently approved.
We think it is important that College of Marin stop this project and address this issue head on. They should publicly disclose how they intend to use this facility and prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) which is clearly necessary. Any potential issues should be mitigated, including potentially moving certain operations to another part of their campus where they won’t impact 600 middle school children and an important creek watershed.
If you agree, please join in support of our efforts and help spread the word about this situation.
--Friends of Kentfield Kids and Creeks
www.KentfieldKidsAndCreeks.org