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August 19, 2005

Larkspur complex gets initial approval

The 2000 Larkspur Landing Circle project, proposed by San Rafael-based Campus St. James, was approved 4-0 by the City Council Wednesday night.

The project calls for 126 multi-family residential units and an 80-room hotel. The Ross Valley Sanitary District building will be replaced with an 11,000-square-foot administrative offices building.

The 10.65-acre site - owned by the sanitary district - is at the intersection of East Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Larkspur Landing Circle East.

"We're happy to have it approved; we're even happier to have the vote 4-0," Campus St. James principal Robert Upton said. "We've got a lot of work to do now. We have a lot of momentum."

Larkspur Planning Director Nancy Kaufman said the project is at the midway point.

The developer needs a precise plan, design review and grading approvals before building permits can be sought, officials said.

It is a scaled-down version of an earlier plan that drew concerns from planners and residents.

The new one, conceived by the San Francisco firm of Smith & Smith, reduced the number of buildings from 16 to nine, increased the amount of open space, preserved more trees and improved access to nearby Miwok Park and Tubb Lake.

Bill Smith of the architectural and planning firm told the council Wednesday that "Together, I think we've crafted a top-notch site plan."

A spokesman for Greenbelt Alliance endorsed the project.

The Larkspur Planning Commission approved the project on a 4-1 vote last month.

Not everyone agreed, though.

Longtime Larkspur resident Bill Moore expressed a number of concerns: the height and density of the project, traffic congestion and the mixing of residential and commercial uses.

"There trying to cram too much in too little space," Moore said.

Council review of the project will resume Sept. 21.

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