B&N to Marin County; Citizens grumble

Who would have thought an incoming Barnes & Noble store would create such a fight? But in Marin County, where customers can go to the famed independent Book Passage (which is known for a steady stream of events as well as a writer’s conference every summer) people are annoyed with the city’s decree that there’s no legal reason to stop B&N’s relocation to the Town Center — in spite of a petition signed by over 220 people that was presented to Corte Madera’s city council:

Local business owner Lisa Wilhelm was dumbfounded. “This is unbelievable to me,” [she] said. “You mean to tell me, we can’t put together a group of people to discuss the balance and diversity of our community? This is not a Book Passage issue. This is a town issue.”

Town attorney Jeff Walter sees things differently. “First and foremost, the general plan spells out distinctly for uses of bookstores and they can move to and operate in those shopping centers,” but since a lease has been negotiated, their hands are allegedly tied.

I guess they’d rather wait and see if the predictions of doom & gloom come true than actually do something about it…

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