Only In Marin
Regulations, Definitions and Investigations
By Bill Meagher M arin has always love of process and natural beauty has made it both a desirable place to set up shop and something of a cautionary tale. The poster child for the battle between commerce and humanity is Mill Valley. But the city at the foot of Mount Tamalpais is shifting gears and those changes may make opening a business in Mill Valley easier. been regarded as a challenging place to do business. The combination of wealth, education,
sustainable non-GMO milk and honey. Whole Foods springs to mind. Characteristics such as signage, color schemes and menus come into play. For its defining purposes, Fairfax has looked at the number of stores the company has and considered “six locations worldwide.” But it’s a big old world. And some exceptions would need to be carved out to include banks, grocery stores, drug stores, medical offices, real estate offices, mail and delivery services and movie theaters. Some of the above are naturals. You need medical offices when you
The permitting process can be one of the biggest hurdles facing businesses, Marin communities are now exploring ways to streamline approvals
I know Mill Valley too well. When the Mill Valley Record was still in business, City Hall was one of my beats. Watching issues come before the City Council or Planning Commission was a real- time illustration of how long it could take to secure approval for a commercial remodel or obtain a conditional use permit. It wasn’t unusual to see one side bring a lawyer, an architect, a landscape architect and a government relations consultant to bump heads against business rivals, neighbors or just residents who didn’t want things to change. But now the city is discussing ways to make the use permit process faster, cheaper and easier. The price was formerly $8,000 for a conditional use permit and could take months. Now the city wants to drop the price to $2,000 with a time frame for approval of about a month. What is a Chain? Fairfax is currently trying to answer the existential question of what a chain business is, and the clock is ticking. A 45-day moratorium passed in March allowing the town to explore exactly how it wants to tackle the age-old question of how to limit businesses that are part of large companies while appearing to welcome new business and not land in court. Perhaps best known as the birthplace of mountain biking, Fairfax has always been home to a political process that is at once both wide open and not easily defined. The downtown is quaint and decidedly local, and nobody is suggesting that McDonald’s open a new location with President Trump tossing out the first Big Mac. Still, that vision gives the Fairfax Town Council indigestion no amount of Tums can cure. A planning commission hearing in February got the ball rolling as commissioners wrestled with how to ban chain retail stores while still allowing some exceptions. Fairfax is certainly not the first Marin city or town to try to thread the “formula” needle, and with good reason. There are some chains that are favorites, even in the land of organic shade grown
Meagher is a contributing editor at NorthBay biz and has been a journalist for more than 40 years. His work has appeared in daily and weekly newspapers throughout California as well as on PBS, CNBC and ABC. He has written for the stage and done podcasts. He has ghostwritten two books and is currently researching a new one. He doesn’t want to talk about the San Francisco Giants. wade into the financial mess that is PPM. Taking time away from poking the Trump Administration in the eye with a sharp stick and promoting his new book, he sent a letter to the FBI and SEC. In it, he asked the agencies to investigate investors’ allegations of fraud by investors and determine what, if any, funds can be returned to investors. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation has revoked PPM’s license. g For those who have had their attention focused on other pursuits, PPM issued loans tied to real estate investments, and in turn paid investors returns generated from those loans. But in late 2025, PPM had to halt distributions to its investors as well as withdrawals by its investors due to a cash crunch. Alarmed investors began making inquiries which in turn has led to probes. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, is the latest person to find out from the real estate office that your house is worth less than you hoped, and then you need the drug store for the prescription. And movie theaters are a must for the 29 people who still don’t have Netflix. Your Marin Moment It appears that the tale of Pacific Private Money, the Novato real estate investment firm, is not going away anytime soon. An alphabet soup of federal and state agencies — including the SEC, FBI, DFPI, Marin County DA and Alameda County DA — are busy peeling back the layers on this onion that could lead to fraud charges against Tiburon PPM CEO Mark Hanf.
Where Ideas Are Born 2026
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