First approved in 1996 by the Marin County Board of Supervisors, the second phase of Lucasfilm’s Big Rock Ranch/Grady Ranch Master Plan is back for development approvals and further environmental review after a lengthy hiatus.

The 1996 Master Plan included 640,800 square feet of floor area in two separate office building complexes on 108 acres of the Big Rock and Grady Ranches, leaving 3,283 acres permanently preserved as open space. The Big Rock Ranch phase was completed.  Earlier in 2009, an application for the second phase of development on the historic Grady Ranch at the west end of Lucas Valley was submitted to the County and has been undergoing revisions.  Pursuant to the Master Plan, 800 acres of the Grady Ranch has been granted to Marin County Department of Parks and Open Space, and 187 acres set aside as private open space.

Documents and Correspondence

Big Rock Ranch as seen from the Big Rock Ridge trail.

The current project would occupy a 52-acre portion of the ranch property.  It proposes to construct a 262,728 square foot building for administration offices, digital technology-based film production studios, and appurtenant elements including 19 guest suites for "overnight guests", restaurant, general store, wine tasting room, screening rooms, costume storage, dressing rooms, and basement level parking for 205 vehicles and 24 bicycles. The office building complex would have a maximum roof height of 65 feet, with two 85-foot towers near the front of the building.

A portion of Grady Ranch as seen from the gate at 2400 Lucas Valley Road.

The project also includes numerous road, bridge, and entry improvements, as well as excavation of 223,770 cubic yards and filling 188,810 cubic yards to create a knoll for a vineyard, visually screen the building, and restore a section of Miller Creek and its primary tributaries to improve upstream fish passage. The project would be annexed to Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District sewer service and the Marinwood Community Services District for fire services.  Domestic and fire prevention water supply would be from new wells rather than supplied by Marin Municipal Water District.

When the Lucasfilm development was approved, MCL held lengthy discussions before reaching a complex two-part resolution.  First, the project was inconsistent in many respects with Countywide Plan policies and zoning code and had a number of environmental impacts and, therefore, did not merit support.  At the same time, MCL recognized that the project offered significant public benefits, including preservation of open space and agricultural land, as well as economic development and jobs.  At that time MCL urged the County and Lucasfilm to work toward crafting conditions that would mitigate the policy and environmental problems.  At this current stage of development, MCL continues to have concerns about both policy and zoning inconsistencies and environmental impacts such as major reconfiguration of the land and groundwater withdrawal.

The Big Rock Ranch/Grady Ranch EIR was certified in 1996.  However, environmental impacts of the new development must be analyzed to determine if potentially significant impacts could result due to changes in the environment since 1996.  The County has determined that these project changes, in particular the shifting of the water supply to on-site wells, will require a Supplemental EIR.

2010 Documents and Correspondence

• July 9, 2010, Marin County Community Development Agency Notice of Project Status
• March 15, 2010, MCL Letter to County Planning Department

2009 Documents and Correspondence

• May 5, 2009, MCL Letter to Planning Commission