Body of News Release
Marin County, CA – For decades, the namesake hilltop surrounded by the King Mountain Open Space Preserve has not been part of the official Marin Open Space preserve. The summit and surrounding area on King Mountain, just west of Larkspur and Corte Madera, has been private property and inaccessible to visitors.
An action by the Marin County Open Space Board of Directors on July 14 could be a crowning achievement in the history of local open space preservation.
The nonprofit Marin Open Space Trust has negotiated an agreement to purchase the 161-acre summit property with plans to donate it to the Marin County Open Space District, which would manage the property as part of a greatly enlarged King Mountain Open Space Preserve.
Funding for MOST’s purchase of the property would be provided by the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund. In addition to funds sufficient to cover the negotiated purchase price of the property, the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund has also offered to donate a $2 million stewardship fund to the Open Space District, along with the title to the property. Open Space District staff estimate that the stewardship fund would cover at least a decade of stewardship, invasive species management, signage, and other site improvements.
If the donation agreement and stewardship fund agreement are approved by the OSD Directors on July 14, MOST would complete the land purchase and donate the property to the district no later than September 8. The most notable result for the public would be that the 32-acre summit area would finally be accessible for public enjoyment and protected from being developed into a single, very large luxury residential estate. Those 32 acres have been inaccessible to the public, despite public trail access to other areas of the property through a public trail easement owned by the Open Space District for many years.
Parks Director Chris Chamberlain said this donation and stewardship fund would align with the department's mission of protecting lands for the public to enjoy.
“This extraordinary gift will permanently protect a treasured portion of the King Mountain ridgeline and preserve its natural beauty and ecological value for future generations,” Chamberlain said. “We are honored by the trust the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund has placed in the Marin County Open Space District and deeply grateful for its commitment to conservation. This land donation and stewardship fund will help ensure that King Mountain remains protected, cared for, and accessible as part of Marin's open space legacy for generations to come."
MOST is a nonprofit land trust that acquires and transfers open space properties in Marin to land management agencies and holds conservation easements that preserve several pristine and undeveloped properties. The volunteer-led organization has completed 11 conservation projects to date, including the permanent protection of the 60-acre Bald Hill property in Ross, the 100-acre Wall property in Fairfax, and the 9.4-acre Upper Hawthorne Canyon property in San Anselmo.
Longtime Novato resident Bill Long, who helped create the Marin County Parks and Open Space District in 1972 and served on the County Parks Commission for 10 years, serves as MOST chair.
“This King Mountain acquisition fills a gap between three discontinuous parcels of public land and achieves the objective of securing the whole mountain for open space,” Long said. “Just this year, a very generous donor and a motivated seller finally made the deal possible, but thankfully, some residents never gave up on the idea. It feels good to wrap this up without using any public funds.”
The existing King Mountain Open Space Preserve was acquired in 1989 and 1990 due in large part to the spirited advocacy of neighboring residents. The Open Space District also holds a scenic easement over approximately 129 acres of the 161-acre King Mountain estate property and a separate trail easement that allows for a public loop trail that connects the existing portions of the King Mountain Open Space Preserve on either side of the property. The new summit acquisition would bump the preserve’s total acreage from 108 acres to approximately 269 acres. The previously off-limits to the public 32-acre summit area has areas of native prairie habitat and native hardwood forests, and 360-degree views, including commanding vistas of Mt. Tam, the Tiburon Peninsula, and San Pablo Bay.
“Marin's open spaces are part of what defines our quality of life and our sense of place,” said Supervisor Brian Colbert, whose district includes communities in Central Marin County including King Mountain. “The protection of the King Mountain summit represents an important investment in both conservation and community access. I want to thank the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund for its extraordinary stewardship and the Marin Open Space Trust for helping bring together the pieces necessary to make this acquisition possible. Their partnership will leave a lasting legacy for Marin County.”
The July 14 meeting begins at 9 AM at the Civic Center, but the King Mountain item is scheduled to be one of the final policy items on the morning agenda; the start time is uncertain. Meetings take place in the Board chamber, Suite 330, at the Marin County Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael. Meetings are livestreamed on the County website and aired locally on Channel 27 for Comcast and AT&T U-Verse subscribers. Meeting participation guidelines are provided on the County website as well.
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