A neighborhood group's lawsuit could stall one of the largest housing developments planned for the Tiburon Peninsula in decades.
Strawberry Residents for Sensible Development filed suit July 6 in Marin County Superior Court challenging Marin County's unanimous June 9 approval of 337 residential units at the former Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary campus at 201 Seminary Drive. The suit names both the county and developer North Coast Land Holdings, The Real Deal reported.
The plaintiffs argue that 40 market-rate units spread across 25 buildings sit too close to the Chapel Hill ridgeline, violating environmental laws and local development plans. In the complaint, the group said the project would be "visibly dominant, overriding the existing prominence of the hilltop and blocking numerous views of the Bay and surrounding areas."
The approved project calls for 184 new homes, replacement of 139 existing units, and retention of 13 residences on the 127-acre hillside property overlooking Richardson Bay. Seventy units would be below-market-rate. The plans also include a 150-unit senior care facility, a daycare center, a fitness center, and 944 parking spaces, per a Marin County news release issued June 24.
Sarah Jones, director of the Marin County Community Development Agency, said the county was obligated to approve the plan under state housing laws allowing certain waivers to residential developers. She noted the proposed buildings would sit on Chapel Hill's slopes, not atop it.
"It's an iconic property," Jones told Enjoy Mill Valley on July 29. The seminary "was an institution in Strawberry, and now it's going to a different future."
A judge will decide whether construction can proceed while the case moves through court. No hearing date has been set.
Years of negotiation preceded the approval
North Coast Land Holdings, owned by the Texas-based Fasken Trust, purchased the shuttered seminary property in 2014 after the institution relocated to Southern California. Grant Weaver is a principal of the company.
Starting in 2017, North Coast convened a community working group that spent 18 months and more than 50 meetings producing a consensus proposal of 234 units. The developer ultimately submitted plans for 337 units, more than 100 beyond what residents had negotiated, the Mill Valley Briefing reported.
North Coast's attorney Andrew Giacomini told the Planning Commission in March 2026 that if supervisors denied the project, the developer could qualify for up to 606 units exempt from environmental review under state law.
Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters, who represents southern Marin, acknowledged the tension at the June 9 hearing: "We are at a confluence of old rules and new rules. Sometimes it still produces unintended outcomes when it comes to housing."
Riley Hurd, an attorney and Strawberry resident who represented a separate neighborhood group in an earlier dispute with North Coast, said the community broadly supported housing at the site, including low-income units.
What's at stake for housing targets
The lawsuit arrives as Marin County struggles to meet state-mandated housing goals. Unincorporated Marin must plan for 3,569 units by 2031 under the Regional Housing Needs Allocation. As of March 2026, the county still needed to approve more than 3,200 additional units, Local News Matters reported.
The seminary project's 337 units represent roughly 10% of that remaining obligation.
A parallel case underscores the risk: a separate developer withdrew an approved 106-unit senior housing project in Strawberry earlier in 2026 after Tiburon Ridge Neighbors sued on environmental grounds in January, the Marin Independent Journal reported.
Even without the lawsuit, construction cannot begin immediately. The developer must still obtain building permits, prepare final plans, and coordinate with agencies before breaking ground.
