Editorial: Leadership key as Ross Valley flood planners consider next steps

The beleaguered Ross Valley flood control and watershed restoration project appears to be dead in the water – so to speak.

The county Public Works Department, which handles flood control duties across Marin, has hit the brakes on its work. Officials are wondering where the 20-year capital initiative is headed after hearing from federal authorities who raised significant questions – and potential costs – over its controversial plans for downtown San Anselmo.

The project’s work has been fueled by a 20-year stormwater fee approved by Ross Valley property owners, but that charge – which generates about  $2.6 million annually – expires in June 2027.

Right now, the project is sitting on $6.6 million. It also faces approaching deadlines that delays could cost it more than $5 million in state grants.

The project’s history of local political battles, its reliance on costly consultants and slough-like progress, it is unlikely voters would renew the fee, leaving the project far short of completion.

There’s also little question that Ross Valley remains in the crosshairs of more destructive flooding.

The project’s latest stumbling block is its plans to remove a footbridge from downtown San Anselmo in its goal to remove impediments that force stormwater out of the creek, causing flooding of creekside properties.

Critics of the project have long argued that there is no remedy. The problem is that downtown and neighborhoods were built along the creek, vulnerable to occasional flooding.

The last major flood occurred in December 2005 and caused an estimated $95 million in public and private property damage.

There have been some close calls since.

The San Anselmo project is at a standstill, facing what the county calls “a combination of regulatory, technical and community challenges.”

Among them, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s determination that the bridge-removal project would increase the threat of flooding downstream and that taking it down would require the unanimous consent of 12 owners of properties that could face a greater risk of flooding.

That may be a tall order. Possibly too tall. Recent efforts to resolve that issue have made little progress.

Given the time it may require to determine whether the project can move forward or be shelved, the county has agreed to lease the bridge area to the town for three years. The safety fencing will now be removed and the platform can again be used as a public gathering spot. The town has cleaned debris out of that stretch of the creek to address safety concerns that prompted closure of the bridge.

At the same time, the county has focused its planning on another segment of the creek, between Ross and Larkspur, but there might not be enough money left to pay for significant improvements. Even the longstanding plan to remove the fish ladder near the Ross Post Office is on hold as FEMA says it could increase downstream flooding. The federal agency’s recommended solution – raising and building floodwalls – may be a political nonstarter.

“Basically, all the various projects are facing challenges,” said Supervisor Brian Colbert, who represents the Ross Valley. “It’s our responsibility collectively to determine what needs to be done to get the projects across the finish line. We really need to understand where this process veered off course so we can correct it and prevent similar issues elsewhere.”

The leadership of Colbert, a former San Anselmo Town Council member with extreme familiarity on this topic, will be tested in building a strong community consensus for moving forward.

The county needs to figure out, at this point, what is achievable.

That same question has vexed his predecessors.

The only clear answer is that the risk is not going away.