Marjorie W. Macris: County Planning Pioneer
By Robert L. Harrison
Marge Macris is perhaps the woman most responsible for the way Marin County looks today. In the early 1970s she was a principal author of the Marin Countywide Plan and later, as the County Planning Director, led its implementation. For nearly 50 years, the county and all of its cities have relied on the plan, which restricts new urban development to the Highway 101 Corridor and reserves the county’s central and western areas for small villages, agriculture and recreation. Her work was pioneering not only for its substance, but also because she was among the few women planning directors in the U.S. at the time.
Marge was born and raised in the Midwest and spent her teenage years in the Chicago area. She excelled at school, including the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where she received a Master’s Degree in Journalism and Urban Planning and was the only woman in her city planning classes. After graduation she joined the Chicago Planning Department, working in the Public Information section and eventually becoming its Assistant Director.
In 1969 she moved, with her husband Dean, the former San Francisco Planning Director, and her daughter Natalie and son Eric, to Mill Valley. She was soon working in the Marin County Planning Department on the Countywide Plan. The idea of countywide planning was new to Marin and, as Planning Director, Marge faced many who did not agree with this approach. Her leadership and negotiating skill led to the successful implementation of this innovative plan.
Marge did not reserve all of her talents for Marin. She went on to serve as the Planning Director for Berkeley, where she skillfully negotiated among many strongly held divergent views on the role of government and city planning. Later, on several occasions when cities were searching for a new Planning Director, Marge was a popular choice to fill in and serve as interim Director.
Since her retirement in the early 2000s, Marge has remained active in the Marin environmental community. She has served on the boards of the Marin Conservation League and Marin Baylands Advocates and with the Sierra Club Marin Group Executive Committee and Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative.
Marge lives with her two cats in the Mill Valley home she moved to some 50 years ago. It has been my privilege to work with Marge, and more importantly, to have her as a friend for the past five decades.
Editor’s Note: A version of this article originally appeared in the Marin History Museum’s newsletter in September, 2020.
