An ugly feud is overshadowing a ritzy California enclave as a home owner faces severe backlash over plans to build a second driveway to his multi-million dollar property.
The proposal sparked fury by neighbors in the otherwise peaceful Hidden Valley in the Bay Area as the move would pave over a trail that has been enjoyed by residents, dog walkers and children for generations.
The 11-acre estate was sold in 2021 for a hefty $22.4 million by WeWork cofounder Adam Neumann. Online marketplace Zillow estimates its price close to $29 million today, although it is currently not for sale.
Instead, the owners of the property, once owned by famed music promoter Bill Graham and was known as the ‘Guitar House’ for its design details, hope to construct an additional driveway for comfort and as an emergency path in case of wildfires, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The owners proposed the idea already in 2024 but it was successfully challenged by an opposition group of neighbors which overturned the town planning commission.
‘They’ve been asked and asked – show us proof of ownership – but there’s no proof,’ neighborhood opposition leader Karen Lorentson told the Chronicle.
It was also decided that the environmental impacts of building the driveway would outweigh its benefits.
Now, the property owners have sued the town and want to turn their pitch into reality as a closed-door construction, the SF Chronicle reported.
Guitar House was previously owned by famed music promoter Bill Graham. WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann also owned the property and sold it in 2021 for $22.4 million
The new owners’ proposal to build a second driveway to the 11-acre real estate has sparked an ugly feud in the otherwise peaceful enclave in Corte Madera, California
The petty squabble has gone so far that residents are throwing insults at the real estate’s owners and have even threatened them.
One comment directed at their children has even led to the owners asking for police presence at a meeting, according to the Chronicle.
Town Council Member Pat Ravasio, who opposes the project and is running for re-election, insisted the area should remain an open public space.
In a revealing faux pas, Ravasio allegedly disclosed confidential information from a closed council meeting to neighbors who share her hatred against the driveway.
This mistake has now led the town to bring this issue to the Marin County Attorney’s Office.
Ravasio called her mistake ‘one little error’ but added: ‘They came after me, and it’s been pretty ugly.’
The fight has come down to both sides referring to a 1906 map of the property which indicated that a similar road was planned but never constructed.
Todd Williams, who represents the owners of 800 Corte Madera Ave, told the Chronicle the driveway called Alta Way was ‘always intended to be a road, and has been used as such and maintained’ for longer than four decades.
Williams further explained that the property owners believe their ownership extends to the center line of Alta Way, giving them a right to build the driveway.
‘Throughout this controversy, the owners have clearly expressed their intentions that, post-construction, the walking access will remain.
Pat Ravasio led the neighborhood opposition against the proposed driveway and insists the trail should remain open to the public
The neighborhood opposition managed to overturn an initial proposal for the driveway last year but the owners of the real estate sued the town afterwards
Corte Madera community development director, Amy Lyle, said town records show that the contested path cannot be claimed as a public road
‘The two uses – walking and driving – can co-exist, just like any other neighborhood road in Corte Madera,’ Williams explained in a statement.
The proposal would in fact keep access to the trail open to the public but pave half of the 40-foot-wide strip for about 120 feet.
Concerned neighbors said they are worried about the driveway being built on the reportedly steep hillside and that it would destroy the immediate connection between residential living and nature.
The road would also see 47 trees removed, 37 of which would be replanted, although the Marin Audubon Society shared worries about negative impacts on a nearby owl habitat.
Corte Madera community development director, Amy Lyle, has put a damper on the neighbors’ hopes to preserve the trail by claiming Alta Way as a public road.
She said that a look into town records led the town to view the issue a civil matter among real estate owners as ‘we don’t have the rights to the paper road,’ making it unlikely the town can intervene.
