When mapmakers in 1906 drew property boundaries and roads that one day might snake around a Marin County hillside, it’s unlikely they conceived those lines would fuel a bitter dispute over a driveway in Corte Madera.
Residents of an 11-acre hilltop estate at 800 Corte Madera Ave. once owned by famed music promoter Bill Graham have asked the town to allow them to build a second driveway for convenience and as another avenue of emergency egress in the event of a wildfire.
But the driveway project, first proposed in 2024, sparked fierce opposition because it would pave over a portion of a beloved wooded dirt path tucked behind backyards on a steep hillside that has been enjoyed by dog walkers, neighborhood kids and others for generations.
The controversy has roiled town politics, ensnared a town councilmember accused of impropriety in her efforts to support the driveway’s opponents, poisoned relations between some neighbors and spurred a lawsuit against the town — all while leveling a spotlight on the estate’s residents who have endeavored to remain anonymous…