Some West Marin residents are balking at plans by Pandora founder Tim Westergren, 48, to construct a 8,297-square-foot vacation home in their neighborhood, according to local news reports. The 17-acre land on which the home is to be built was previously occupied by St. Eugene’s Hermitage and Western United States Diocese of the Orthodox Church of America. Westergren and his wife, Smita, reportedly bought the property in 2008.
The contretemps in Inverness Park near Tomales Bay started when local residents discovered Westergren’s proposal, submitted by Hidden Dragon LLC to Marin County’s planning department. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the proposal called for his vacation compound to take up 8,297-square-feet of space, with six bedrooms, 10-baths, and a pool house.
Local residents Doug and Kathy Gower complained in a letter to the county, “Our own house is 900 square feet, as are many of the houses here, and while that may be small, a development that approaches commercial, rather than residential, at over 8,000 square feet is totally out of control.”
More than twenty other letters have been reportedly sent to the Marin County Community Development Agency agreeing with the Gowers.
A Pandora representative e-mailed the Chronicle a statement from Westergren. It stated, “Inverness is a special place, and protecting the environment there is extremely important to me personally. I look forward to a collaborative and constructive dialogue with the community as I look to build a home for my family.”
Image: Brendan McDermin/Reuters
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