Help MALT defend against West Marin development

I wonder how many of those demanding that the Marin Agricultural Land Trust be squeezed out of future Measure A funds will admit to ever buying meat, cheese and vegetables from organic West Marin ranchers and farmers.

Without MALT-funded easements, those very same ranchers and farmers would be free to sell off their acreage to private developers. That almost certainly would lead to the construction of many mini-mansions, as well as challenges to the county's A-60 zoning rules prohibiting subdivided neighborhoods. It could raise a new “Marincello threat.”

As many know, Marincello was the 1960s “brain child” of a private developer and an oil company. The proposal would have created a new city of 30,000 residents on the Marin Headlands.

Working for years, a handful of dogged environmentalists stopped the project from ever seeing the light of day. The land was eventually made part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area for all to enjoy.

Let's face it. Private developers from around the globe lust after Marin County land. I trust the county's zoning rules, but if MALT can use Measure A funds to create permanent ranchlands and stave off any future “pie in the sky” deals, I say more power to MALT. I'm voting yes on Measure A.

— Dee Fratus, Larkspur