Terra Linda Eichler history starts on a dairy ranch. In the early 1950s, pasture in the Las Gallinas Valley north of downtown San Rafael began to give way to subdivisions, and from 1955 Joseph Eichler's company built hundreds of one-story post-and-beam houses there. They still set the look of the neighborhood.
This guide covers how the ranch became a planned town, when and how many Eichlers were built, the architects, the Alliance and Kenney homes next door, and the city's overlay rules. It draws on San Rafael's General Plan 2040, a council staff report, Marin LAFCo records, university archives and published histories, and notes where they disagree.
From the Freitas ranch to a planned town
According to San Rafael's General Plan 2040, the valley was first settled by the Coast Miwok, whose settlement there was called Ewu. It became part of a Mexican land grant in the 1850s (a neighborhood history dates the Santa Margarita and Las Gallinas grant to 1844), and in 1898 it became the Freitas ranch and dairy farm. Large-scale subdivision began in the early 1950s, and commercial building followed in 1957 with Scotty's Market and the Terra Linda Shopping Center.
Published histories add more. One says 400 acres of Freitas land were sold to developers in 1953. Another says a September 1954 trade-magazine article praised the first developer for creating "California's newest planned town," and a third says Eichler took over the residential part after that earlier developer failed. We found no city or county record confirming these accounts.
Two or three sections, and a disputed count
Terra Linda's Eichlers weren't built as one tract. A 2021 published history describes two sections, or three:
Terra Linda North. The first section, with compact models from 1955 and 1956 that came before Eichler's atrium plans. A hilly part of it has about a dozen original two-story Eichlers.
Terra Linda South. About a mile away, built from 1958 to 1960, and including atrium models.
Santa Margarita. Later homes from around 1960 and 1961, built farther into the canyon near Santa Margarita Park. The history places them in Terra Linda North but quotes a local source who treats them as a third section.
The counts don't line up:
San Rafael's General Plan 2040 says about 900 homes were developed by Joseph Eichler between 1955 and 1965.
The same 2021 history counts nearly 850 Eichlers, about 630 of them in Terra Linda North.
A university architecture database says Eichler built 630 houses in "the Terra Linda Tract" during 1955 and 1956 and from 1959 to 1961, on streets including Del Ganado Road, Las Ovejas Avenue, Montecillo Road and Penny Royal Lane.
Neither source says whether its 630 figure covers the same houses as the other's, and none explains the gap between about 900 and nearly 850. The General Plan also counts more than 1,700 modernist Eichler homes across Terra Linda, Lucas Valley and Marinwood. Our Terra Linda North page and Terra Linda South page cover each area today.
Architects and models
The General Plan describes one-story homes with post-and-beam construction, glass walls opening to private yards, internal atriums and hydronic heat in concrete slab floors. The 2021 history, though, says the first North models came before the atrium plans, so if a North house has an atrium, check whether it's original.
The university database says the plans were designed by either Anshen & Allen or Jones & Emmons. The firms' archives fit those dates:
The Online Archive of California's finding aid for Anshen & Allen says the firm began working with Eichler in 1950.
UC Berkeley's Environmental Design Archives says Claude Oakland joined Anshen & Allen in 1950, became the principal designer for Eichler Homes, and in 1960 left to start his own firm, taking the Eichler account with him.
UCLA's finding aid for A. Quincy Jones's papers dates his partnership with Frederick Emmons to 1951 through 1969.
No city or county record we found names the architects, so treat any single credit with care. If you have original plans, look for the model number: Berkeley's finding aid for the Oakland & Imada Collection says Eichler models carry a subdivision code and a number, such as MC-184 for Marin County model 184. See our Anshen & Allen architect page.
Alliance and Kenney homes next door
Not every modern house in Terra Linda is an Eichler. The General Plan says the Eichler homes were complemented by Alliance and Kenney homes with similar features, "creating a unifying architectural element" that still defines the neighborhood.
A 2017 published history says more than 200 Alliance homes were built in 1954 and 1955 by Alliance Construction Co. and the Terra Linda Corp., to designs by W.F. Severin. Unlike Eichlers, it says, Alliance homes have sloped ceilings in all or nearly all rooms, and it quotes 1954 praise for their tongue-and-groove plank ceilings, exposed beams and louvered windows. Its list of Alliance streets includes Holly Drive, Hickory Lane, Whitewood Drive and Las Colindas Road.
Las Colindas Road also appears on the database's list of Eichler streets, so a street name alone won't settle who built a house. We didn't find a source that describes the Kenney homes in detail. Our guide on how to tell if a house is an Eichler walks through the clues.
The Eichler-Alliance overlay
Unlike the Lucas Valley tracts, Terra Linda is inside the city, so San Rafael sets its Eichler rules. The General Plan's Policy NH-4.5 calls for preserving the design character of the neighborhood's "iconic Eichler, Alliance, Kenney, and other single-story mid-century modern homes." Program NH-4.5A says to keep enforcing the Eichler-Alliance Overlay District, including its height limits and design review for roof changes, and to consider design guidelines and a possible expansion of the overlay.
The zoning text, as quoted in a November 15, 2021 city council staff report on accessory dwelling units, includes these rules:
Height. In the -EA combining district, the maximum height is 17 feet to the peak, with one habitable floor.
Roof changes. An administrative design permit is needed for changes that raise roof structures by more than six inches or change the roof pitch, including sloping roofs, covered atriums taller than the existing roof, clerestories and exposed exterior ducting. Flush-mounted solar, or solar not visible from the street, is excluded.
ADUs. The ordinance the report proposed said an accessory dwelling unit in the district can't be taller than the existing house or 17 feet, whichever is less.
A published history says neighbors pushed for the overlay, adopted in 2004, after two homes added second stories. The General Plan's Program CDP-5.3C also recognizes the Eichler, Kenney and Alliance subdivisions of North San Rafael "as a defining part of San Rafael's architectural heritage."
We found no sign that Terra Linda is a listed historic district, and no Terra Linda entry among the Marin County resources on the California Office of Historic Preservation's listed resources. The General Plan asks the city to update its historical and architectural survey and to consider conservation districts, but says none are proposed in General Plan 2040.
This is not legal advice. The 2021 report shows the text as it stood then, so confirm the current rules for a specific address with San Rafael's planning staff.
Open space and annexation
The hills on Terra Linda's western edge became open space in the 1970s. Marin LAFCo's 2019 service review explains how:
The Board of Supervisors formed County Service Area No. 23 on July 1, 1975, to raise money to buy and maintain Terra Linda open space. Voters approved a general obligation bond on November 4, 1975.
Beforehand, a committee of the Terra Linda Valley Homeowner's Association, the city and county staff reviewed the Freitas, Nunes, Turski and Oak Hill parcels, about 766 acres in all.
In February 1976, the city, the Marin County Open Space District and CSA 23 signed a joint powers agreement to fund and manage the purchase. In 1991, the Open Space District took over the Terra Linda/Sleepy Hollow Preserve, and CSA 23 is now inactive.
The General Plan describes today's Terra Linda/Sleepy Hollow Open Space preserve as 1,172 acres. It also credits bond measures approved by San Rafael voters in the early 1970s for much of North San Rafael's open space, while LAFCo dates the Terra Linda bond election to 1975.
Terra Linda wasn't always part of San Rafael. The General Plan says North San Rafael was mostly unincorporated when it was first developed and was annexed by the city in the 1960s and early 1970s, and that the city's population jumped again in 1972 with the annexation of Terra Linda. LAFCo describes Terra Linda as entirely within the city limits today.
What to check before you buy or remodel
Who built it. Eichler, Alliance and Kenney homes share the valley, so check the permit history and assessor record, and compare the house with original models.
The overlay. Ask the city whether the parcel is in the Eichler-Alliance overlay before planning a roof, clerestory, atrium cover or ADU.
Radiant heat. The General Plan names hydronic heat in slab floors among the homes' features, so ask whether the system is original, repaired or replaced.
Frequently asked questions
Who designed the Terra Linda Eichlers?
A university architecture database says the plans were by either Anshen & Allen or Jones & Emmons. Anshen & Allen's archive confirms its Eichler work from 1950, and UCLA dates the Jones & Emmons partnership to 1951 through 1969. No city or county record we found names the architects.
How many Eichlers are in Terra Linda?
The sources disagree. San Rafael's General Plan says about 900 were built from 1955 to 1965, while a published history counts nearly 850. Two sources give a 630 figure, one for Terra Linda North and one for "the Terra Linda Tract," and neither explains how it relates to the totals.
Can you add a second story to a Terra Linda Eichler?
Not in the Eichler-Alliance overlay, as its code read in the 2021 staff report: 17 feet to the peak and one habitable floor. Roof changes over six inches or pitch changes need a design permit. Confirm the current code with the city.
What is an Alliance home?
A modern tract house built in Terra Linda in 1954 and 1955 by Alliance Construction Co. and the Terra Linda Corp., according to a published history. Alliance homes have sloped ceilings in all or nearly all rooms, unlike Eichlers. The city's overlay is named for both.
Related reading
Lucas Valley Eichler History: Upper and Lower Tracts in Marin
Mill Valley Eichler History: Strawberry Point's Harbor Point
Rancho San Miguel Eichler History: Walnut Creek's 1950s Tract
More guides on this topic: Eichler Neighborhoods & Tract Histories
Want help sorting out a Terra Linda house's builder, model or overlay rules? Call or text the Boyenga Team at Compass at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or contact the Boyenga Team online.
