The Marin Countywide Plan is Released!

Marin County, Community Development Agency

Marin County has long maintained a tradition of environmental planning balanced with the recognition of linking land use with transportation and the need for affordable housing. In 1999, the Marin County Board of Supervisors determined that sustainability would be the overarching theme of the current revision of the Countywide Plan. "Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs." Sustainability is also referred to as taking the whole systems approach that successfully aligns environmental, economic and (social) equity concerns in a manner that results in multiple benefits. The County Community Development Agency has applied sustainability in land use planning as never done in the United States before. The Countywide Plan policies are evaluated for their environmental, economic and social equity benefits, and the programs will accessed in terms of "how will results be achieved" and "how will success be measured" with the used of indicator monitoring using targets and benchmarks. The Plan also includes many cutting edge subjects such as: a watershed planning approach, alternative waste options (e.g., composting toilets), global warming, application of the precautionary principle, reduction of pesticide and herbicide use in County open space, parks and road, organic, locally-grown food for all people including healthy food for children, green building and energy reduction as a standard, linking land use and public health and much more. See their website at (www.future-marin.org) to learn more.