If you’re a typical homeowner, your most important asset is your home; it’s your wealth. If you live in Marin, however, I am concerned that you are about to lose much of your wealth — unless voters take action.

In Fairfax, there is a plan for a six-story building in the middle of town that will change the town for the worse. I think it will lower home values. In San Rafael, one plan is for a 16-story complex. If plans like these move forward, it will be the beginning of the end for our suburb.

We will become something different, something much worse than what we are today.

The developer in Fairfax is proposing a 243-unit, six-story apartment complex in the middle of town. The tallest building currently is three stories and the largest apartment complex is Sherwood Oaks at 80 apartments.

The proposed project entails 202 “market rate” apartments (I read that as “luxury”) and 41 “low income” apartments. Low-income apartments are defined as costing 60% of market rate, which would be about $2,200 for a studio. That’s out of reach for most low-wage earners. It begs the question: What are we trying to solve and are we willing to destroy our small town to do it?

One of the biggest advocates for development mandates is state Sen. Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco). Not surprisingly, he is also a recipient of campaign cash by those in the housing industry.

San Francisco’s population has barely grown since 1950. Weiner should concern himself with his own backyard before he tries to wreck the suburbs. While we can’t vote him out, we do have elections in two years for our representative in the state Senate and Assembly offices.

We can tell the candidates that our votes require them to represent the current voters of this district.

These plans are dangerous. With just one route of escape (via the Hub through downtown San Anselmo) in the event of a wildfire from the west, the danger to the Fairfax community is clear. Currently, about 65,000 cars travel through the Hub each day. How much more is safe to add? Is it safe now?

Further, the Ross Valley Fire Department has no ladder truck that can reach even a third story, nor does it have a fire station that could house such an apparatus, according to Chief Dan Mahoney. A ladder truck requires four firefighters. Kentfield Fire Protection District Chief Mark Pomi tells me a new ladder truck with a 105-foot ladder (now standard) goes for about $2.1 million.

RVFD doesn’t have such a truck; it cannot house one; and it doesn’t have the three professionals to work the vehicle. Those facts should preclude the towns it serves from being allowed to approve buildings taller than it can protect. Even though Mahoney and Pomi agree that we have excellent shared fire services (with each agency helping one another), I still think that should be the rule.

When Pomi looked back at the minutes of county meetings in the early 1990s, he found that leadership felt four ladder trucks in Marin would suffice (settling Kentfield, San Rafael, Novato and Southern Marin).

But that was then and this now. If we’re going to be putting up high-rise apartment complexes across the county, we need a new strategy. I worry it won’t be safe for our communities.

The Fairfax proposal has been joined by multiple plans for enormous buildings in San Rafael and Novato. If this is our future (and I hope it’s not), I firmly believe we are going to need many more ladder trucks.

Residents should not have to bear the cost of the ruination of our lifestyle. Those of us who want to keep Fairfax and our other small communities as they were envisioned long ago need to make their voices heard. They need to vote and they need to stand up and tell our state representatives that we want our zoning back.

Doug Kelly, of Fairfax, previously served on the Ross Valley Fire Department board, the San Anselmo Town Council, the San Anselmo Parks and Recreation Commission, the Ross Valley Sanitary District board and the Central Marin Sanitary District board.