The biggest news this year is that the Wall Property is being preserved as open space in perpetuity! The last closing papers are being signed. My profound thanks to all who have worked so hard on this, including the Board of Supervisors, Marin Open Space Trust, Fairfax Open Space Committee, our Council (especially our subcommittee of Mayor Coler and Councilmember Cutrano) and our staff — and the many people and organizations who have donated to raise the money to purchase and care for this treasure.

Top-level, a core issue is that of trust in the public process as we continue Fairfax’s proud tradition of citizen involvement and regional leadership. We face deep changes, many of which will be positive as well as challenging. My core goal and my contribution as a Council Member continues to be fostering creative, respectful, and effective conversations as we find opportunities to navigate this pivotal era. Resistance to change is not the path to a healthy future.

“We need better communication and a continuation and improvement of Fairfax’s tradition of citizen involvement and regional leadership.”

Citizens are concerned with improving traffic flow and improving pedestrian, driver, and cyclist safety while preserving our historic downtown. As the town continues a long-term civic engagement process to discuss these issues (building on the process we facilitated while working on the General Plan), it is vitally important that all voices be heard and that plans acceptable to the entire community be developed.  One healthy outcome of this engagement is that citizens have generated creative ideas about green infrastructure, a vibrant downtown, public art, and historic preservation.

There is a well-founded concern about traffic and parking. Indeed when our family moved to Fairfax there wasn’t a single traffic light! Most of this traffic arises from tens of thousands of people commuting into Fairfax every day to work in service jobs here, while tens of thousands more commute out every day to work in higher-paying jobs elsewhere. The price and availability of housing, both rentals and ownership, is thus intimately tied with traffic — as well as our outsized carbon footprint and people’s daily stress. Addressing the picture holistically is what good planning is about.