Open-space group teases parcel tax as Martha land price drops

The private 110-acre Martha property, east of Tiburon’s Hill Haven neighborhood and south of the Old St. Hilary’s Open Space Preserve, has for decades been targeted for development as the 43-lot Easton Point subdivision. The undeveloped land is for sale for $63 million. (Provided by the county of Marin, 2011)

The owners of the 110-acre Martha property on the Tiburon Ridge have cut its asking price by nearly $30 million as local open-space activists say they will likely pursue a voter-approved parcel tax in their effort to acquire the land and add it to the Old St. Hilary preserve.

The property, owned by the Martha Co., is now listed for $63 million, down from $95 million. It’s the second reduction in the attempt to sell the land, which went on the market in 2018 for $110 million after decades of efforts to redevelop it as a subdivision.

Local grassroots organization Tiburon Open Space has been working with the Trust for Public Land to negotiate with the Martha Co. to acquire the property and add it to the adjacent 122-acre Old St. Hilary’s Open Space Preserve, which the group helped preserve under its previous incarnation as the Last Chance Committee. The group has been soliciting donations toward the purchase of the property and says it would likely pose a parcel tax to voters to help pay for the acquisition.

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