Eichler was one of several builders in the initial single family neighborhoods in Foster City. As shown in these field photos for Neighborhoods 1 and 2, and Neighborhoods 3 and 4, the neighborhoods had a deliberately eclectic mix of architectural styles; in order to lessen the sense of tract-house uniformity, the Fosters selected several builders […]
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April 27, 2017 by KevinSurreal Suburb: Bel Marin Keys

I discovered Bel Marin Keys on one of my regular drives up to Sonoma County, and instantly became entranced. This is one of the most extraordinary, offbeat places around, and I’d stop by whenever I had the opportunity. Despite being in Marin County, land of redwoods and hot tubs and mountain bikes, Bel Marin Keys has an altogether other-worldly presence. Approaching the community one passes through characteristic Marin woodsy scenery, but things soon change radically. The community was carved out of the wetlands starting in the early 1960s, with house styles evoking the latest design trends of the time. The community has a Florida-esque “keys” layout with houses lined along finger-like streets, interspersed with navigable waterways. Streets are lined with every kind of palm tree and have tropical names like “Bermuda Harbor” and “Montego Kay.”
Besides the striking aesthetics, two things really strike me about the place. First, the edges give way to vast expanses of flat marshland nothingness, creating an “edge of the earth” feeling, like you might just drop off by mistake. The second is the complete, utter silence… despite all the houses out there, there is no commercial activity and very little traffic, so it is quiet in a way I haven’t experienced in very many other neighborhoods.






























Since I first published this page on my old website I have received some correspondence from Bel Marin Keys residents. They have been able to fill me in on some of the historical background. There are a total of 2200 acres of farmland that were converted in the development into a little over 700 homes, developed from the early 1960s to the late 1980s. The original developer, Jack West, dreamed of having a Caribbean like “feel” to the development, patterned on his extensive trips to that region (hence the Caribbean street names). He envisioned a larger community with a golf course and even a shopping center on an island in the middle of one of the lagoons, but this never came to be. The last phase of development was abandoned for environmental reasons, and is now owned by the California Conservation group. It is being converted back into wetlands for native birds.
There are five lagoons, all man-made, but the water in them comes from San Pablo Bay, and there is outlet to the larger San Francisco Bay and the ocean from all the homes in the area. Locks control access. The water is flushed regularly, to maintain its quality, and is also checked chemically. There are large fish in the lagoons, including bass. There are also lots of herons, owls, raptor birds, swans, pelicans and many other birds. There are even otters.
There also used to be horseback riding. A boating magazine article from the 1960s mentioned “miles of riding trails,” and that riding was one of the popular activities.
Many of the original residents purchasing in “The Keys” came from the military base across the wetland region called Hamilton Air Force Base. The base is no longer active, and has been developed for non-military use now, though some of the original hangers and an old airfield strip remain. Bel Marin Keys also attracted executives from San Francisco because of its vacation-like atmosphere. Today there is a mixture of well-established older residents (many of whom have children and grandchildren living in the area as well) combined with younger more affluent families whose children usually attend private schools out of the area.
Bel Marin Keys has its own Yacht Club, and it is a big part of the social life in the community. There are traditions such as “Santa on the Sea” where several volunteers dress up their boats with Christmas lights, deer, and other decorations and put on Santa costumes. About one week before Christmas they tour the lagoons on their boats and stop at docks handing out candy canes and such to the kids. There is also Icicle Day on January 1st on which day people can jump into the main lagoon (freezing cold!) and are rewarded with free chili and drinks. Finally, there is a 4th of July “Sailabration” involving a competition for the most well decorated and patriotic boat. They serve all kinds of good food and have all kinds of activities for both kids and adults, including a parade. Some of these traditions date back more than forty years.
I am particularly grateful for the historical information provided to me for this page, including images in the gallery below (click on the images for captions). As with the other pages on this website, if you have additional material to contribute, please send me an email!









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January 23, 2017 by KevinReykjavik
Once upon a time when people came back from vacations, they’d invite friends and neighbors over to view a slide show of their travels. This could be interesting, but also very tedious – particularly if there was a large quantity of slides. On the other hand, it could be fun to see some slides. The hard part is […]
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August 12, 2016 by KevinMaple Ash, Part 2

This gallery contains 27 photos.
Last month I posted a collection of photos from the Maple Ash neighborhood in Tempe, Arizona. Here are some more.
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July 24, 2016 by KevinFrom the Archives: Maple Ash Neighborhood – Tempe, Arizona
Through the years of the consulting business we compiled a lot of photos, so part of this site will be to provide a venue for pulling those out of the archives. Here is a handful of photos produced for a project studying the Maple Ash neighborhood in Tempe, Arizona. Maple Ash is the oldest remaining neighborhood […]
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December 5, 2015 by KevinDry Country
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October 17, 2015 by KevinBayshore Interchanges – What Might Have Been

This gallery contains 7 photos.
Doing some web research, I came across a web page with series of sketches showing concepts for interchanges along the Bayshore Highway in San Mateo County. They appear to be from 1940, in the early days of freeway design when the concept of using bridges to separate traffic for uninterrupted traffic flow was new. There […]
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July 25, 2015 by KevinSOMA

This gallery contains 22 photos.
For a time I had two parallel careers: city planning consulting and real estate agent. Though I’d studied city planning, I’d also long had a real estate license so I could help out in my partner’s business on the weekends. In 2005 with the strong local property market I went full time into real estate […]
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July 11, 2015 by KevinFrom the Archives: San Carlos, California
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March 13, 2015 by KevinFrom the Archives: More from Scottsdale, Arizona
From 2007-09 we worked on the Downtown Plan for Scottsdale, Arizona. This was a particularly special project since I’d grown up in Scottsdale, twenty years earlier. The downtown was going through a resurgence and people were excited to work on the plan. Like the rest of our projects, there were lots of photos. This second set was […]