Article courtesy of The Marin Independent Journal, Aug 4, 2021
The San Rafael City Council has adopted General Plan 2040, the Downtown Precise Plan and several related ordinances after years of revision and public comment.
The council voted unanimously on the plans Monday and requested no new adjustments. The plans took effect immediately.
Approving both plans meant adding amendments to the municipal code to repeal downtown zoning districts and regulations and create a downtown mixed-use district.
The plans will support “increased property values, sales tax revenues, grant eligibility and other long-term changes that will enhance future municipal revenue,” staffers with the Community Development Department wrote in a report to the City Council. The plans also outline funding priorities for city programs and services, the capital improvement program and the city budget.
The staff report summarized public comments from the council meeting on July 19. Six commenters called for more attention in the general plan to greenhouse gas mitigation; two were from environmentalists seeking a Baylands Corridor designation in the general plan; four were concerned about displacement, gentrification and homelessness issues; and one said the general plan should be translated into Spanish.
At the council meeting on Monday, Jeff Rhoads of San Rafael Heritage said while that while the initial draft of the general plan was “fussy” about new development standards, he was glad the city chose to streamline and incentivize restoring old buildings to “embrace our heritage.”
Bill Carney of Sustainable San Rafael asked that the city use the plan’s “extraordinarily well crafted” considerations for addressing climate change “fast enough to get us through this intensifying process, to get us to a truly sustainable future.”
Sustainable San Rafael again urged the council to use the precise plan to begin work on Northgate and Canal precise plans “as soon as priority development area funding can be secured” and to begin work on the sea level adaptation plan.
Councilmember Rachel Kertz asked if, given the ongoing impacts of climate change and timing to implement change, “Are we looking at doing things differently or are we going to address that differently?”
City Manager Jim Schutz said the general plan is for the long term, and now that it is approved, some initiatives can be implemented quickly but others will take time.
Councilmember Eli Hill said he thinks the plan addresses diversity and inclusion well.
“I think it really speaks to our aspirations and recognition of the different journeys people take to come to San Rafael, and the opportunity to create paths of equity,” he said.
Councilmember Maika Llorens Gulati said equity needs to be considered when pursuing future environmental goals such as electric vehicle use, “since not everybody can afford to be environmentally friendly.”
Mayor Kate Colin praised the work done on adjusting code for future development to prevent building out into open land.
“That’s what infill looks like,” she said. “We are committed to looking at projects that make sense.”
