At the time of acquisition the Cerini Ranch consisted of twenty-eight (28) pre-existing legal parcels, fifteen (15) of which were created by the wife of John Keys, one of the early settlers of Tomales. These pre-existing legal parcels are shown in Figure 2 (PDF), entitled, “Lands of Tomales Farm & Dairy LLC, Current Configuration”.

Property:
The new owners’ proposed project will result in a significant reduction of individual, developable parcels. Rather than seeking to develop all 28 sites, Tomales Farm & Dairy’s primary focus will be the creation of two large farms, a dairy farm with a commercial creamery facility, and a farm producing specialty crops.

Additionally, a gift of land will be made to the Catholic Church (Parcel O), in keeping with Gail Cerini’s wishes; certain riparian areas will segregated for management and potential conservation easement; and a commercially-zoned parcel near the village center will be held for possible future development (Parcel G). Residential uses that are consistent with the rural character of the area are also planned for several parcels.

The project is contingent upon the acquisition by the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), or similar organizations, of agricultural conservation easements on the large tracts of land east and west of Highway 1 that underlie the two large farms.

The proposed project consists of the following components (use the embedded links to read more):

Continued agricultural uses:
Four large farms will collectively maintain agricultural uses on 468 acres and support the operations of the planned dairy and creamery.

• Two large farms (Parcels A, N, M, and I)
• Dairy farm with commercial creamery (Parcel F)
• Specialty farm (Parcel L)
• Use of Brady Road for all-weather access (Parcel Q) :

Parcel Q is the existing roadbed for Brady Road, which is the historical access route from Dillon Beach Road to Parcel N. Brady Road will be repaired for all-weather agricultural use, thereby eliminating the need for vehicles and livestock to cross the riparian areas on Parcels L, M, and I. In addition to Parcel N, Brady Road will provide access to Dillon Beach Road for Parcel L.

Work/live use for property and ranch management activities (Parcel P):
Parcel P contains an existing residence which will be converted for use as a construction and planning office for the project and will provide housing for a ranch manager. The parcel will be increased to approximately 1½ acres by lot line adjustment and will house the ranch’s working horses. Long-term use will be as a work/live space consistent with its zoning designation.

Single-family residential uses (Parcels B, C, D, E, H, J and K):
Five parcels (B, C, D, E and H) on the south side of Tomales-Petaluma Road lend themselves to single-family residential use, as they are not viable for stand-alone agricultural use. Each parcel could ultimately be developed with a new single-family residence for ranch employees, other tenants, or private owners. Each would conform to the standards established by the Tomales Community Plan.

In addition, two parcels, J and K, which are West of Highway 1, have been designated for single-family residential use. Access for Parcels J and K will be through a common driveway across Parcel L to Highway 1.

Note: Tomales Farm & Dairy will continue to participate in the County’s Williamson Act program [Policy CD-1.2]. Future commercial development on the commercially zoned parcel east of Highway 1 will be consistent with the existing C-VCR zoning designation and the specific design criteria contained in the Tomales Community Plan [CD-2.1 and CD-2.5]. New improvements will respect the Stream Conservation Area policies as they related to Tomales and Keyes Creeks [CD-1.7].

Future residences will be sited to protect and conserve agriculture, views, ridgelines and slopes to provide a transition zone between MALT lands and the village core [CD-3.4]. Future residences and accessory buildings will be appropriately clustered to minimize disruption of existing and future agricultural uses, in the most accessible, least visually prominent and most geologically stable portions of the site [CD-3.5].

The Ranch contains a number of structures that were constructed prior to 1930. Alterations or additions to any pre-1930 structures will conform to policies CD-4.1, 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4. No development is proposed within the Tomales Historic Resource Area [CD-4.4].