Marin advances plan to buy, save Tiburon Ridge land

The Marin Board of Supervisors has approved an agreement to purchase and preserve the Martha Co. property on the Tiburon Ridge while also taking the first step toward establishing a new tax on southern peninsula residents to help finance the acquisition.

The Trust for Public Land earlier announced it had reached a deal to buy the 110 acres of undeveloped land from owners the Martha Co. for $42.1 million, with the intent to then turn around and sell it to Marin for $26.1 million. Under the purchase-and-sale agreement approved unanimously by the supervisors at their June 21 meeting, the county and the trust have until Aug. 30, 2024, to raise the funds and finalize the deal.

The trust plans to fundraise and explore state and federal grants to raise its $16 million portion of the purchase. The county will explore a combination of funding to come up with its $26.1-million share, with the biggest portion — an estimated $18 million — potentially coming from a Mello-Roos bond that would be repaid by a parcel tax levied on residents of a new Tiburon Peninsula Open Space community-facilities district, composed of Belvedere and the area of Tiburon southeast of Trestle Glen Boulevard.

The supervisors at the same meeting voted unanimously to adopt resolutions stating the county’s intent to form the district and issue the bonds. That sets up a July 26 public hearing on the district formation and bond resolution.

If fewer than half of registered voters within the proposed district protest its formation, the supervisors could then put the bond and final formation of the district on the Nov. 8 ballot. Voters in the new district would then need to pass the ballot measure with two-thirds’ support.

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