The surprise move, which tilts the balance of power on the commission in favor of limiting development of the controversial tract, came as supervisors split 3-2 on the appointment.

Ginalski replaces Allan Berland of Kentfield, a county planning commissioner for four years. Berland was immersed in the planning process after serving as chairman last year during the commission's grueling series of 23 public hearings on the countywide plan update.

Ginalski's appointment tips the balance on the seven-member county commission in favor of a "baylands corridor" zone that would limit development at the 1,200-acre Silveira Ranch and St. Vincent's School for Boys east of Highway 101.

Berland was strongly opposed to the corridor. He supported a task force report that recommended between 500 to 1,800 affordable housing units on the land. "On that issue, this will really be a significant shift," Planning Commissioner Don Dickenson said.

Ginalski, nominated by Supervisors Hal Brown, Susan Adams and Charles McGlashan, told the board he strongly supports the baylands corridor program. "The baylands corridor is a necessary addition to the countywide plan," Ginalski said later. "I believe it provides an opportunity to look closely at habitats and wetlands on larger parcels in the county."

Supervisors Steve Kinsey and Cynthia Murray nominated Berland.

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The issue of St. Vincent's-Silveira and the baylands corridor has been an obstacle in moving the plan forward.

Dickenson said Berland and Thompson were opposed to the baylands corridor, while Dickenson and commissioners Randy Greenberg and Wade Holland favored it. The other two commissioners, Jo Julin and Hank Barner, are undecided, he said.

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"I've wanted to be on the Planning Commission for a long time," said Mark Ginalski, 43, an attorney and former Tiburon Town Council member, after he was named to a two-year term as an at-large commissioner. "It's quite an honor for me, and I have some big shoes to fill."

"I'm disappointed," said Berland, 66, a real estate attorney. "But I'm hopeful I will be able to rejoin the commission at some point."

The move broke with a tradition of reappointing incumbents who want to serve - especially as the Planning Commission is amid updating the Marin Countywide Plan.

Supervisors yesterday re-appointed incumbent commissioners Jo Julin of San Anselmo, Randy Greenberg of Tiburon and Wade Holland of Inverness. All will serve four-year terms representing their area supervisorial districts.

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Ginalski's appointment comes as the Planning Commission is scheduled to hear an appeal July 25 on the hot-button Easton Point development in Tiburon. The Martha Company, a firm founded by descendants of the Reed family settlers in Tiburon, wants to build 31 single homes and nine affordable multiplex units on 110 acres on the tip of the Tiburon Peninsula off Paradise Drive. The property is one of the largest remaining tracts of developable land in Southern Marin. "I worked in the mid-1990s on the Harriman (open space) tract, knowing that Martha would be coming up," said Ginalski, who served on the Tiburon council from 1994-98.

Ginalski said he agrees with a county staff report that the Easton Point development application, filed in April with the county, should be processed at the city level instead because it will require a hookup to a public sewer system.

It was not immediately clear whether Ginalski's appointment would help expedite release of the newest version of the Marin Countywide Plan. The new version and its environmental impact review have been delayed more than six months while county legal and planning consultants analyze it.