The Larkspur City Council has rejected a challenge to a controversial plan for a new tennis club in the center of town.
The applicants want to tear down the Mt. Tam Racquet Club at 1 Larkspur Plaza Drive and replace it with a smaller recreational center. It would include several small buildings, eight outdoor tennis courts, a three-lane outdoor pool and various green spaces.
The Planning Commission approved the project design, two permits and two height exceptions during a hearing on Aug. 11. More than 100 people attended the hearing, some for the project and others against.
A resident, Howard Ortman, appealed the commission’s decision on Aug. 19. The appeal said the project would violate a permit requirement not to be “detrimental to the general welfare” because it would remove an indoor pool and indoor tennis courts that residents need.
Ortman also alleged that the applicant failed to address flooding risks from the rising sea.
“I believe my concerns are echoed by over 300 members that have signed two different petitions,” Ortman said.
The council heard the appeal on Wednesday. City staff said the project complies with all conditions for approval and recommended that the council uphold the Planning Commission.
Alex Othon, a city planner, said neither the Planning Commission nor the City Council can require certain amenities unless they are “reasonably linked to the required findings for approval.”
“The amenities offered by a private club to its members are at the discretion of the club and its ownership,” Othon said. “The facility is not required to provide any services to the public for public benefit.”
The project site is partially located in a flood zone, according to the city, and has to build any new structure above the Federal Emergency Management Agency base flood elevation. Othon said the project complies with all flood zone, drainage and stormwater requirements.
Mark Harris, the owner and developer of the new club, said he understands the site is an important place for the community. Harris said the objections of the project opponents are conflated with their feelings about the closure of a club he does not own.
Harris said he has worked with the owners of the Mt. Tam Racquet Club to keep the business open while the new club is in development.
“I can’t help but feel that if the plans before you were for a shopping center or a medical building or a housing development — while I know these concerns would still exist and this group of petitioners would still be upset — I’m not sure there would be petitions and I’m not sure they’d be here tonight,” he said.
Harris said he has been listening to the community and offered to continue conversations in private forums, but emphasized the project needs to be financially feasible. He said the smaller footprint of the club allows for this financial stability.
Many residents spoke at the council meeting. Opponents said the project does not appeal to current club members; that members would be priced out; and that older residents would lose health programs like classes for people with Parkinson’s disease.
Proponents said the new club would add a beneficial, attractive business to the community.
The council agreed with staff and the commission findings and unanimously denied the appeal.
“The reality is, I don’t believe we are in the position to tell you how to run your business,” Councilmember Scot Candell said to Harris.
“It’s a hard standard. I hear that what is coming is detrimental to some people for sure, but the standard is not relative,” said Mayor Stephanie Andre. “I can’t make that finding. It is not detrimental to the workers and the people who live in the surrounding area.”
The council encouraged Harris to listen to public desires. It also largely agreed that the city should focus on providing more health services for older residents.
Councilmember Catherine Way said her husband took the Parkinson’s class at the club before he died. She said there are opportunities for the city to provide the services the community wants.
“There’s got to be creative ways in which we can think of the service area that may not be met in this renovation, but still have other resources in our community to serve those needs,” she said.