MARIN MAGAZINE
09/22/23
Learn historical and notable facts about Fairfax as well as what Mayor Chance Cutrano achieved this past year and what civil service means to him.

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
08/25/24
Councilmember Chance Cutrano said the town will save money in the long run. “By voting yes on Measure J, Fairfax can repair nearly half of our streets over five years, unlock millions in federal grants and enhance emergency preparedness."

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
07/19/24
“The council’s decision last night to officially place the $18 million bond on the ballot is a crucial step to addressing our town’s aging road infrastructure,” Councilmember Chance Cutrano said in a phone interview. “We really cannot continue with a pay-as-you-go model.”

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
08/10/23
“These slide events have been challenging for people,” said Fairfax Mayor Chance Cutrano. “I’m obviously grateful that the county has begun making the necessary improvements to that roadway,” Cutrano said. “As mayor, I’m also looking forward to working with the county and water district to continue making these essential improvements.”

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
02/23/24
Fairfax Town Councilmember Chance Cutrano recalled when a storm last year caused a one-lane closure on Bolinas Road, which made travel challenging for neighbors and MMWD staff. “To have this roadway constantly being degraded and at risk of going down to one lane or no lane or having interruptions like that — we can’t sit by and let that continue to happen,” he said. “We have to come up with a plan to address it.”

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
03/02/24
”Over the years, Bolinas Road has been the scene of numerous repairs, but local officials are working on repairs that are designed to provide permanent safety. The pitch for federal funds is not one based on the level of traffic, but on the road’s importance, integrity and safety... [B]ringing home a slice of federal RAISE funds is pivotal to make longer-lasting repairs.”

- Marin IJ Editorial Board

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
09/15/24
“Fairfax is preparing to evaluate the maintenance and repair needs of key town-owned properties...Assessments are planned at Town Hall and the police station, the public works corporation yard, the Fairfax Pavilion, the fire station, the community center, the Women’s Club council chambers and the Little League structures.

“This assessment will help our community develop a long-term plan for renovating and retrofitting buildings to continue to serve Fairfax for years to come,” said Councilmember Chance Cutrano.

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
07/20/23
“This is a pretty big deal to do this,” said Mayor Chance Cutrano. “I think it paves the way, no pun intended, for an ADA transition plan and some of the other great work we have for the town.” ADA is the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The program authorizes the city manager to pay up to $170,000 to shave and grind down pavement that presents a trip hazard on a one-time-only basis in the current fiscal year.

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
12/30/23
The project is being funded by a $826,000 grant issued by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area’s transportation planning agency.

Chance Cutrano, the mayor of Fairfax and a TAM board member, said he wanted to know what incentives or penalties could be established to increase the chances that users will return bikes to the parking hubs, rather than leaving them in undesired locations.

“I think that’s one of the concerns in most communities we hear about deploying these assets, and then they’re hanging out in problematic spots, they’re blocking sidewalks, or things like that,” Cutrano said.

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
08/30/23
A prized undeveloped tract of land in Fairfax that has been eyed for housing for the past decade has been lost to foreclosure, and town officials want to preserve it as open space. Mayor Chance Cutrano said he and Vice Mayor Barbara Coler were appointed to a subcommittee to oversee the process.

“It’s sort of this gem conservation property in Fairfax,” Cutrano said. “You can walk from the center of Fairfax right up to the ridgeline,” which connects to county-maintained trails leading all the way to the ocean, Cutrano said. “That’s been the real thrust of interest over the years, to preserve this ecological opportunity, and have the ability to have the scenic vistas and ridgelines intact.”

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
04/22/24
Chance Cutrano, a Fairfax councilmember assigned to a subcommittee on the project, said representatives of the Coastal Conservancy had been invited to visit the site to “see how important the property is for our community in Fairfax.”

“There really has been an incredible outpouring from all sorts of different parts of our community in Fairfax and the greater Ross Valley in support of this acquisition,” he said. “I think it’s honestly another one of these remarkable examples of the power of partnership. We’re really bringing together a lot of valuable and experienced partners to help this community realize this dream of an open space acquisition.”

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
06/09/24
"For more than two decades, the town had designated the land as potential open space. It is also on the Association of Bay Area Governments’ priority conservation area list,' which is made up of Bay Area locations recommended for protection of natural habitat and preservation as open space.

Making that happen takes more than having it on a list. 'There was no guarantee this was ever going to be possible,' said Fairfax Councilmember Chance Cutrano, who voted in support of the pact with MOST, a major legal step toward public acquisition.

It looks very promising that achieving the community’s long hoped for goal of preserving the Wall land for public open space, for generations today and to come, is going to be fulfilled."

- Marin IJ Editorial Board

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
04/11/24
Fairfax officials, following in the footsteps of activists in western Marin, are developing a “dark sky” ordinance to curtail light emissions.

“I think people move to a place like Fairfax, which is a gateway to West Marin, for the love of nature and to see the stars, and with as little light pollution as possible,” said Councilmember Chance Cutrano. “The general public probably wouldn’t notice too many big changes, but they would when they look up at the sky.”

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SIERRA CLUB YODELER
08/05/22
"Marin’s Reusable Foodware Ordinance is a big deal. It not only reduces waste, it reduces carbon emissions and toxic chemicals in our environment."

"The unanimous adoption of Marin County’s Reusable Foodware Ordinance this May was made possible by an inspiring community of local activists....Word got out in the community that I was working on a single-use ordinance and out of the blue, Susan Hopp gave me a call to invite me to a brand new Sierra Club committee, Plastic Free Marin, started by Barbara Bogard and Chance Cutrano. Renée Godard, the Sierra Club-endorsed Fairfax Council Member, was also part of this new group. I can say with certainty that the ordinance would not have happened — or at least not at such a rapid pace — had I not met this group of exceptional environmental leaders."

-Jinesse Reynolds, Former Chair of Sierra Club Marin

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
06/09/24

"[T]he state ban on the sale of gas-powered landscaping tools goes into effect in 2024...Fairfax, in moving forward with an earlier ban, also needs to be cognizant of possible financial impacts its law could have on landscaping businesses, for which the switch of tools and equipment is a large investment.

For example, Town Council member Chance Cutrano has suggested that any fines levied for violations could go toward the violator’s acquisition of electrical- and battery-powered equipment."

- Marin IJ Editorial Board

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
01/31/23
Marin County will loan a nonprofit housing developer $4 million to purchase an 80-unit complex of apartments in Fairfax and preserve it as permanent affordable housing.

Fairfax Mayor Chance Cutrano said, “As a renter and a strong proponent of tenants’ rights and tenants protections, I care deeply about housing stability as well as housing affordability, and I think the project before you really accomplishes both.”

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
09/11/23
“It’s been a really humbling and rewarding year thus far digging into this that much further,” Mayor Chance Cutrano said.

The issue has raised civic engagement to an unexpected level, he said, noting that officials have held meetings on the topic since March 2022. “I think it’s a testament to the community’s interest in trying to get this right.”

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
04/11/24
Fairfax was required to allow 490 new residences in the eight-year planning cycle. The town has planned for up to 598, said Councilmember Chance Cutrano.

“It is an exciting and relieving moment to be able to create a plan that conforms with everything that the state is looking for,” Cutrano said. “...[I]t takes so long for any of these projects to get into the pipeline and come to fruition anyway, but to work with the community to get to this point is important.”

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
08/05/22
After several meetings to fine tune regulations for outdoor dining in Fairfax, the Town Council has unanimously approved a parklet program. The new set of rules approved Wednesday will allow businesses to operate a private parklet for dining or retail, as well as provide an option for public parklets.

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
04/20/23
Cutrano said that as the youngest mayor in the county, he hopes to impart lessons about his own journey in public service and encourage youth to “remain curious and ask big questions.”

“This youth town hall is a great opportunity to connect with our future leaders, to listen to them, and to invite them to help us solve some of the most consequential issues of our time — from climate change, to housing affordability, to health and wellness."

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MARIN MAGAZINE
12/01/20
”Most people were wishing for 2020 to end and expected a magical, new reality. Unfortunately the world does not reset at the strike of midnight, but Marin is in good hands with its batch of first-time elected government officials. Here are some of them.”

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