Marinij.com is reporting:

Marin officials appear to have struck a constructive compromise to settle the dispute about an open space trail that crosses a Lucas Valley ranchland owned by METALLICA's James Hetfield.

Hetfield has made his family's home on the property. Soon after, he put up "no trespassing" signs and a long fence that blocked a long-used trail after growing tired of litter and vandalism.

He and county officials have struck a deal that provides trail users with a new route and guarantees the protection of 330 acres from development, while also guaranteeing Hetfield privacy and protecting his property.

The acreage is adjacent to the open space that makes up the Terra Linda-Sleepy Hollow Divide. The easement would connect with the 438-acre agricultural easement the county acquired in 2002.

County staff, in its report to the supervisors, says, "The purpose of the easement is to protect the property's agricultural and open space values in perpetuity."

Hetfield's representative, veteran Marin land-use planner Scott Hochstrasser, said his client's philanthropic offer respects "the preservation of the beauty of open space in Marin."

The compromise represents such an ethic.

It also represents the county's wisdom in avoiding a costly legal battle over the trail. At a time when the county is trying to figure out how it's going to afford to pay public health nurses, firefighters and sheriff's deputies on the front lines of local public services, it is hard to justify gambling taxpayer cash to fight for a trail that's used by a relative few.

Read more here.