Editorial: Tiburon’s new open space is worth the wait

The official removal of the “No Trespassing” signs entering the Tiburon ridgetop Martha Co. property is a fitting end to a decades-long struggle to save the land as public open space.

Although often ignored, the signs were a symbol that the hilltop acreage was slated for the construction of multi-million dollar homes with sweeping postcard-perfect views of San Francisco Bay.

Over the years, the property’s development potential was whittled by restricted zoning and other planning hurdles until the family that owned the 110 acres agreed to sell it.

Tiburon residents had purchased properties and saved hillside acres adjacent to the Martha Co. site, but securing the ridgetop for public use was tied up in numerous, years-long development battles at both the county Civic Center and Tiburon Town Hall.

Officials made no secret over better than 40 years that they preferred to have the property saved as public open space. It was one of Marin’s development battlegrounds. It is a precious slice of Marin that’s been a longstanding listing on the county’s open space “wish list.”  Eventually, the oft-frustrated landowners offered the land up for sale and the stage was set for a $42.1 million purchase that was recently finalized.

The landmark purchase was largely made possible by Belvedere and Tiburon voters’ overwhelming support for a bond measure to raise more than half the sum needed to make public ownership a reality. The county, the Marin Open Space Trust, the state and private donations closed the gap.

Credit should go to the Tiburon Peninsula leaders, tireless longtime volunteers and elected officials, who never gave up on the goal to turn the ridgeline into public open space, securing one of the most spectacular spots in the Bay Area for public enjoyment for generations to come.

Some criticism that securing the land for public open space undermined the community addressing its need for affordable housing is wide of the mark. Those hilltop homesites were never envisioned for affordable housing, but as sites for multi-millionaires’ mega-homes. Given its value, it was never accessible as a site for the kind of housing the Tiburon Peninsula sorely needs.

Affordable housing activists would have preferred building affordable residences, but the purpose certainly reflects the community’s will and will likely benefit many more people.

Securing the site as public open space is envisioned as a place where all, regardless of their income and race, could hike and enjoy the hilltop environs and spectacular views.

The contributions from the state and county underscores that goal. The support and financial commitment of Tiburon Peninsula voters secured it. Their generous support in backing the bond measure reflects a combination of both their longtime commitment to preserving the ridgetop as open public land and the community’s affluence.

Now, town officials have the job of making sure that access is readily available to all. They and county and state leaders need to make sure that designated trailheads are not limited to local knowledge.

The “No Trespassing” signs, likely posted to reduce the landowners’ liability and, in no small matter, to underscore that it was private property, have been removed from Founder’s Rock and other locations.

That those signs have been removed from this special landscape marks a remarkable achievement and one that should be enjoyed and treasured by all for generations to come.