Our Mission

When the Nicasio Land Owners Association, Inc. (NLOA) was founded in 1961, it stated the following key goals in its Articles of Incorporation:

1. To aid in the preservation of the beauty of the Nicasio area

2. To study the possible future development and planning of the Nicasio area so as to take advantage of the natural beauty and topography of the area,

3. To assist so that the Nicasio area may develop in a pleasing, well planned and orderly manner

4. While recognizing that the development of the Nicasio area is inevitable and while not desiring to impede progress, to aid so that the future development is accomplished in a manner that will enhance the value of the community and preserve as much as possible its natural beauty.

How We Work

Still guided by these objectives, the NLOA uses specific tools in order to evolve with the changing needs of both our local area and Western Marin County. The NLOA:

• Provides a voice on County policy initiatives and the development proposals that affect the Nicasio area.

• The NLOA created “Development and Design Guidelines for the Nicasio Valley Planning Area.” These Guidelines were then adopted by Marin County in 1997 as the standards by which the county is to evaluate development applications in our community.

• In order to have a consistent, knowledgeable interface between the community and the county planning staff, the NLOA created the Nicasio Design Review Board. Design Review Board volunteers evaluate the conformance of development applications using the Design Guidelines, and provide the county with a local interpretation of whether a project meets the standards set out by the community.

• The NLOA is a membership organization, with policy making made by all dues-paying landowners in Nicasio. It holds its annual meeting in the spring of each year, where it elects its Board of Directors. The Board meets quarterly to discuss issues and projects affecting the community.