Blackstone

Information may not be reliable

Marin County is composed of eleven Cities and many unincorporated areas. The Cities are: Belvedere, Corte Madera, Fairfax, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Novato, Ross, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausalito and Tiburon. For purposes of the multiple listing [MLS] system both Greenbrae and Kentfield homes and real estate are treated as if they were located in incorporated areas. The unincorporated coastal communities of West Marin include: Bolinas, Dillon Beach, Fallon, Inverness, Marshall, Muir Beach, Olema, Point Reyes, Stinson Beach and Tomales.
With only 523 square miles it is the third smallest county in the State, dominated by Mt. Tamalpais, elevation 2,571 feet.
Marin County is currently one of the slowest growing urban counties. In 1950 its population was 85,610; in 1960 it's population was 146,820; in 1970 its population was 208,250. That was the end of any significant growth. It's 1997 population was estimated at only 245,929.
Unfortunately the 1950-1970 growth spurt corresponds to that period in American Architecture when all residential practitioners were engaged in commercial projects. Luckily a draftsman in the Midwest by the name of Joe Ranch entered a contest to design a home with the least amount of lines. He won - hands down. He later came up with the idea of putting tar and gravel on the flat roof. To this day, nestled among the beautiful hills and valleys of Marin, one can still find many examples of the classic linear style bearing his surname.
The Southern Marin communities on which we concentrate are Mill Valley, Tiburon, Sausalito and Belvedere. Links to our website for each City are at the navigation bar across the top of this page.
Year 2000 demographics for Marin County, from the ABAG site: population, race, sex, age, housing.
MARIN.ORG is an excellent Marin County community resources site.

MARIN COUNTY AGENCIES AND MUNICIPAL CODE
The Marin County Home Page includes links to the governmental departments. Three which impact residential real estate are:

With parcel number in hand one can locate parcel maps on the Assessor's site.

The Marin County Code is online, but may not be current. Zoning is covered at Title 22. One-family Districts are covered at Chapter 22 of Title 22, including zoning and floor area ratio (which is defined at Section 22.02.285 and applied at Section 22.22.080).

RENTING At one time many property owners placed rental listings on the local Multiple Listing System, through their own real estate brokers. Over the years, as rental agencies persuaded such owners to save their money and let them, the rental agencies, take over, the number of rental listings on MLS has drastically declined. Currently rental listings are still available on the Marin Association of Realtors MLS.

I believe that the largest databases of current rentals are Craig's List and the classified section of the Marin Independent Journal. But certain to overtake both is Zilpy.com, which includes historical (ie back six months) rent.
While looking for a home in Marin, short term, fully furnished condominiums and town homes are available in Sausalito, Mill Valley and Tiburon: contact David Klein at Marin Executive Suites in Sausalito [415 331-5534].

The Marin County Office of Education website includes all of the County Schools.
The California Standardized Testing and Reporting [STAR] test results for schools, counties, districts and the state are available online. Test results are reported for components of the STAR Program, including:
* California Standards Tests (CSTs)
* California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA)
* California Achievement Tests, Sixth Edition Survey (CAT/6 Survey)grades 3 and 7 only
To find CST, CAPA, and CAT/6 Survey test results for a given year,

* ten select the test component (eg CST)
* select district (eg, Tamalpais Union High for Southern Marin high schools)
* click "View Report"
Also, any school can be compared to other schools in the District, the County and the State using the Education Data Partnership site. From the "Reports" menu select "Schools". Then enter "Marin" in the County field. Select any elementary, middle or high school District. Then, from "Related Links" choose "Compare Schools". In the grid for "Compare schools" pay attention to each field to insure that the result matches your search: eg, comparing one school to all in the County.
There is an online Guide To Private Schools with links to most of the private elementary and high schools in Marin.

MARIN - MASS TRANSIT
Commute south to San Francisco by Golden Gate Transit's bus system, or take its ferries to Sausalito or Larkspur. Follow prompts under 511 until you reach a live operator who can define the schedule number you are looking for.
Marin Airporter provides direct transit to SFO, from Larkspur, every half hour. There are stops along 101 at Mill Valley and at Sausalito.

The Marin County Sheriff: The Department is charged with law enforcement outside of incorporated areas, which are divided into four areas. The unincorporated neighborhoods of Southern Marin are in Area 1.
The Attorney General: This Office logs crime statistics for every city and county in California. The County of Marin crime statistics are found on its site.

Not a pleasant topic, but it is important to understand how to access the online sex offender database called Megan's Law, and what it contains. It is maintained by the California Attorney General. On entering the site one must first read and consent to a general Disclaimer.
There are seven search modes: by name, city, ZIP Code, or county; or within a predetermined radius of a selected address, park, or school.
There are pictures of every registrant, and most include addresses. The 'more info' link provides tabs for descriptions, offenses, scars/marks, and aliases.

All information on this site is deemed accurate but should be independently verified. In addition, some information is date/time sensitive. And some of the ordinances and customs are exclusive to the City & County of San Francisco.
Although I am a broker-attorney I am not YOUR broker-attorney - YET. For specific questions and inquiries I recommend that you contact the Marin County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service. For a nominal Referral Service fee you can have an otherwise free consultation with an attorney specializing in real estate, taxation ......