Archives for December 2022

Martin Brest’s email to Supervisor Rodoni Re Preserving Innovative Reductions of Water Usage (11/18)

December 4, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Dear Supervisor Rodoni,

As a film director I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to come across a wide range of people who have contributed to our culture. In Marin County I have had the good fortune to encounter David Lee Hoffman, a visionary innovator who has labored over the past 48 years to turn his property into an environmental laboratory that has perfected systems that—among other invaluable achievements—have turned it into one that USES ONLY 10-20% OF THE WATER of comparable adjoining properties, even while maintaining an extensive organic vegetable garden. This alone should warrant further examination and postponement of the property’s impending dissolution and likely destruction by the County, now slated to occur December 2nd.

An artist, inventor, and sustainability pioneer, David Lee Hoffman built his home as a working model for a zero-waste lifestyle. Deeply disturbed by the impact humans have had on the environment, he labored and devoted his resources to create ecological systems that show how we can create superior soil, grow high grade organic food, and live in a self-sustaining way. It is no overstatement to say these hard-won systems and the property’s artistic and idiosyncratic architecture are a California, if not national, treasure, and it all will be eradicated within two weeks unless there is an urgent intervention.

I hope all concerned can rally and get on the right side of history. It would be tragic and a shame on all of us to allow this achievement and its lessons to be irreversibly lost. If we are able to save the property, it can function as a learning center for future generations, teaching the impact one individual can have on their community and the planet. It can serve as a springboard and inspiration, giving artists, architects, engineers, and students new perspectives to tackle the massive environmental issues ahead of us. If allowed to survive, its lessons can continue to inspire solutions for some of the most important problems of our time.

I hope a Solomonic solution can be arrived at that deals mercifully with this visionary accomplishment.

Respectfully,

Martin Brest

 

the email was copied to Governor Newsom

Susan Tibbon’s OPED: ‘The Last Resort’ should be saved as landmark (12/3)

December 3, 2022 by Leave a Comment

There’s so much loss and heartbreak of late, yet the brilliant creativity and ingenuity of people lifts our spirit and gives us hope.

One such positive example of this is “The Last Resort” property in Lagunitas. Over the last 40 years, David Hoffman, a renown tea connoisseur and environmental visionary, has created a multi-level teahouse garden of such staggering beauty and vision that it ranks among artistic wonders in the pantheon of the Forestiere Underground Gardens in Fresno, Damonhur “ecovillage” in Italy and the Watts Towers sculpture in Los Angeles. Like Simon Rodia’s Watts Towers, Hoffman created his work of art without permits.

Marin County officials are on a path to tearing down what is arguably the preeminent closed-loop environmental model for all of us going forward in a world teetering on environmental collapse.  Working together, we could make The Last Resort a landmark and save an artistic, educational and environmental treasure for future generations.

To help save Hoffmann’s creation and experience its unparalleled beauty go online to TheLastResortLagunitas.org or TheLagunitasProject.org.

– Susan Tibbon, San Francisco

 

from the Marin Independent Journal, Saturday, December 3, 2022, OPINION section, Saturday Soapbox

November 30, 2022 Newsletter

December 2, 2022 by Leave a Comment

… from the desk of David Lee Hoffman

Dear Tea Drinking Friends & Supporters of The Last Resort,

First, the good news. This year we received some of the best teas ever, especially with the greens and Phoenix Mountain Oolong Reserves. Look at our website to see our current tea list. You can also give Jeannie a call in the office Tuesday – Thursday 10-5pm.

Now the bad news. As many of you are aware, my tea business and The Last Resort are fully integrated to the point that one cannot exist without the other. For years now, the County of Marin has been pressing to dismantle my many unique innovations, art, architecture and other features of The Last Resort. In 2015, a Receiver was appointed, charged with “rehabilitating” the property so that it is code-compliant. Despite spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal proceedings trying to resolve these issues with the County, my travails continue. The irony is that Marin County is now trying to destroy a site that its own Architectural Commission unanimously voted a “designation of architectural significance for the site in its totality, including all 36 structures, to preserve its intrinsic artistic value as a site of local importance to the history and culture of unincorporated Marin County.”

On May 21, 2021, the Receiver obtained a court order instructing him to “take full and sole physical possession” of The Last Resort, “secure sale” of the property, and order me to “vacate”. I filed an appeal but on October 19, 2022, the appeal was dismissed on the ground that this order cannot be appealed.

Most recently, I received a letter written by the Receiver, Eric Beatty, saying that he is moving forward with his plans to sell the property.  His plan will ultimately lead to demolition of The Last Resort and to its replacement with expensive homes. The Receiver’s letter states:

“The time has come for me to carry out the instructions order. To that end, this serves to inform Mr. Hoffman that I will be taking full and sole possession of the properties on December 2, 2022. It is imperative that Mr. Hoffman use the next month to make arrangements to vacate the properties, to cause all other persons to vacate the properties and remove all items of personal property he wishes to retain from the properties if he has not already done so.”

To the point, I am in very deep doo-doo. Although we believe the “vacate” date will be shifted to the end of December, there is still imminent risk that we are fast approaching the proverbial “game over” just three months shy of having lived 50 years on the property, where my vision and model of sustainability is in its final stage of completion.

We are in a crucial period. It is essential that we raise as much money as possible to demonstrate to the County that a preservation-based plan is financially feasible. For all you tea drinkers who rely on The Phoenix Collection, this may be the last chance to keep the tea business alive and protect the extensive collection of rare teas stored in tea caves at The Last Resort. To the many who have already donated, thank you. To everyone, please consider making a donation at this critical time. Take a few minutes and look at the GoFundMe Campaign:

www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-last-resort

The money from this campaign goes directly into a special account in support of preservation of The Last Resort. A tax-deductible alternative is also available.  A modest portion of the funds raised has been allocated to document the artistic, architectural, environmental, cultural and historic aspects of The Last Report in hopes of gaining recognition as a National or California landmark. The remainder is sequestered to be used for preservation of The Last Resort.

If we are able to raise significant funds through donations (and tea sales), my legal team believes that we will be able to extend the “vacate” deadline and work with the County and the Receiver to develop a preservation-based plan.

The tea business will continue as usual as long as I am able to remain on the property. Credit cards will not be charged until tea is actually shipped. The Tea Museum will continue to be open on Saturday mornings, 10am-2pm.

With heart-felt thanks for your support,

I remain,

Sincerely,

David Lee Hoffman, CDO