Tiburon housing plan nears approval as questions linger over Paradise site

Tiburon has inched closer to state approval of its eight-year housing roadmap, but the state wants more information about the Paradise Drive property that’s been at the center of local controversy.

In a three-page letter dated July 28, the California Housing and Community Development Department said Tiburon officials need to provide more proof of the realistic potential at the 9.6-acre property at 4576 Paradise Drive, with appropriate rezoning and access to services.

Opponents are taking credit for the rejection. They say the town quietly submitted eleventh-hour revisions to the document on July 27 and that if they hadn’t intervened, the state would have accepted the housing element with the Paradise site included.

“I find this offensive,” said Jeff Chanin of Old Landing Road. “This is an important issue for everybody, and obviously there’s a lot of concern about it, and the idea that it gets kind of swooped in just like it did … there was no indication.”

But town officials say it’s typical for jurisdictions to work with the state throughout the review period. Any proposed staff-level revisions — even if accepted by the state — must still go through Planning Commission and Town Council hearings for formal readoption and resubmission to the state, which gives the public a chance to weigh in.

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