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Home My WebLink AboutCD Downtown Design Criteria____________________________________________________________________________________ FOR CITY CLERK ONLY File No.: 115 (2040) Council Meeting: 2/5/2018 Disposition: Accepted Report Agenda Item No: 6.c Meeting Date: February 5, 2018 SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Department: Community Development Department Prepared by: Paul Jensen Community Development Director City Manager Approval: ______________ TOPIC: “GOOD DESIGN” CRITERIA FOR DOWNTOWN SAN RAFAEL DEVELOPMENT SUBJECT: PRESENTATION BY PLANNING COMMISSIONER LARRY PAUL AND WORKING GROUP ON RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GOOD DESIGN CRITERIA FOR GUIDING NEW DEVELOPMENT IN DOWNTOWN SAN RAFAEL RECOMMENDATION: Accept presentation and provide direction on next steps. BACKGROUND: On August 14, 2017, an Ad Hoc City Council Sub-Committee convened to discuss “Community Design,” with a primary focus on Downtown development. The Ad Hoc Sub-Committee included Mayor Phillips, Council Member Andrew McCullough, two members of the Design Review Board (Eric Spielman and Stewart Summers) and Planning Commissioner Larry Paul. The initial purpose of the meeting was to determine if there are adequate tools and resources to facilitate and achieve good design in development in San Rafael. The Sub-Committee was provided with an inventory of our current resources (all referenced in this report), which are abundant and comprehensive. The inventory of documents and regulations include the following: ✓ Downtown San Rafael Vision – 1993 ✓ General Plan 2020 Policies & Programs for Downtown – 2004 ✓ San Rafael Design Guidelines (Interim) – 2004 ✓ Zoning Regulations for Downtown – 2004 ✓ Downtown San Rafael Station Area Plan – 2012 Mayor Phillips assigned Planning Commissioner Larry Paul the task of forming a working group to review these resources and to develop a more concise and consolidated list of key criteria. The goal is to develop an informational handout (“City of San Rafael Expectations for Good Design”) that can be provided to developers/applicants. SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 2 On November 6, 2017, the City Council was provided a presentation on and discussed the Downtown San Rafael Vision, which included an oral report from Commissioner Paul on the “good design” criter ia. The presentation provided the City Council and public with a “refresher” on the many plans, development policies and design guidelines that are applicable to Downtown. The presentation and discussion was timely in that: 1) the City is currently reviewing a number of development projects in Downtown and there are projects in the pipeline; and 2) we are embarking on the preparation of General Plan 2040 and Downtown is one of the major focus areas. Commissioner Paul has formed a small Working Group of local design professionals and residents to review the above planning documents and regulations and consolidate them into more concise criteria. The Working Group members are as follows: Larry Paul William Carney Jeff Rhoads Lisa Max Max Crome Bruce Bagnoli The Working Group has made a lot of progress on this task. On January 17, 2018, the Working Group provided the Community Development Department staff with a presentation of slides that summarize criteria recommendations and photos of sample development projects. The slide presentation and oral report will be presented at the City Council meeting. Commissioner Paul has reported that the “good design” criteria presented in the slides will be memorialized in a “checklist,” which will be prepared. Ultimately, the “checklist” would be provided to developers and applicants to guide them on the City’s expectations for good design. COMMUNITY OUTREACH: Notice of this public meeting was provided to a specific list of stakeholders that include major Downtown San Rafael property owners (e.g., BioMarin, Seagate Properties, and Monahan Pacific), San Rafael Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Business Improvement District (BID), Marin Builders Association, Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods, and neighborhood associations/organizations that border Downtown San Rafael. The Working Group was also provided notification of the meeting. A copy of the public meeting notice is attached (Attachment 1). FISCAL IMPACT: This project has no fiscal impact on the City. OPTIONS: The City Council has the following options to consider on this matter: 1. Accept the report and provide feedback and direction to working group and staff; 2. Reject the report; or 3. Direct the working group and staff to return with more information. ATTACHMENT: Meeting Notice NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING – CITY COUNCIL You are invited to attend the City Council meeting on the following topic: TOPIC: Downtown San Rafael – “Good Design” Criteria for New Development – The City Council will be given a presentation by Planning Commissioner Larry Paul and a Working Group, which will summarize recommendations for “good design” criteria that are intended to guide new development in Downtown San Rafael. The “good design” criteria consolidate current City policies, regulations and guidelines that are contained in a number of planning resources, including the San Rafael General Plan 2020 and the Downtown San Rafael Vision; City Case #s: GPA16- 001/P16-013. This is a discussion item and not considered a project under 14 CCR Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This discussion item does not authorize any changes to development regulations nor result in any direct physical changes to the environment. MEETING DATE/TIME/LOCATION: Monday, February 5, 2018, 7:00 p.m. City Council Chambers, 1400 Fifth Ave at D St, San Rafael, CA FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Raffi Boloyan, Project Planner at (415) 485-3095 or raffi.boloyan@cityofsanrafael.org. You can also come to the Planning Division office, located in City Hall, 1400 Fifth Avenue, to look at the file for the proposed project. The office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday and Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. You can also view the staff report after 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before the meeting at http://www.cityofsanrafael.org/meetings WHAT WILL HAPPEN: You can comment on the topic. This is a discussion item and the City Council will receive an oral report/presentation and provide direction. IF YOU WANT TO COMMENT: You can send written correspondence by email to the address above, or by post to the Community Development Department, Planning Division, City of San Rafael, 1400 5th Avenue, San Rafael, CA 94901. You can also hand deliver it prior to the action date. At the above time and place, all written correspondence received will be noted and all interested parties will be heard. If you challenge in court the matter described above, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered at, or prior to, the above referenced public hearing (Government Code Section 65009 (b) (2)). Judicial review of an administrative decision of the City Council must be filed with the Court not later than the 90th day following the date of the Council’s decision. (Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.6) Sign Language and interpretation and assistive listening devices may be requested by calling (415) 485-3085 (voice) or (415) 485-3198 (TDD) at least 72 hours in advance. Copies of documents are available in accessible formats upon request. Public transportation to City Hall is available through Golden Gate Transit, Line 22 or 23. Para-transit is available by calling Whistlestop Wheels at (415) 454-0964. To allow individuals with environmental illness or multiple chemical sensitivity to attend the meeting/hearing, individuals are requested to refrain from wearing scented products. STAFF REPORT APPROVAL ROUTING SLIP Staff Report Author: Paul Jensen Date of Meeting: 02/05/2018 Department: Community Develiopment Topic: Deowntown Design Criteria Subject: Presentation by Planning Commissioner Larry Paul and Working Group on Recommendations for Good Design Criteriafor Downtown San Rafael Type: (check all that apply) ☐ Consent Calendar ☐ Public Hearing ☒ Discussion Item ☐ Resolution ☐ Ordinance ☐ Professional Services Agreement ☐ Informational Report *If PSA, City Attorney approval is required prior to start of staff report approval process Was agenda item publicly noticed? ☒ Yes ☐No Date noticed: 02/23/18 ☒Mailed ☐Site posted ☐Marin IJ Due Date Responsibility Description Completed Date Initial / Comment DEPARTMENT REVIEW FRIDAY noon Director Director approves staff report is ready for ACM, City Attorney & Finance review. 2/23/2018 ☒ PJ CONTENT REVIEW MONDAY morning Assistant City Manager City Attorney Finance ACM, City Attorney & Finance will review items, make edits using track changes and ask questions using comments. Items will be returned to the author by end of day Wednesday. 1/23/2018 1/23/2018 Click here to enter a date. ☒ DS ☒ LG ☒ DEPARTMENT REVISIONS WEDNESDAY noon Author Author revises the report based on comments receives and produces a final version (all track changes and comments removed) by Friday at noon. 1/29/2018 ☒ PJ ACM, CITY ATTORNEY, FINANCE FINAL APPROVAL MONDAY morning Assistant City Manager ACM, City Attorney & Finance will check to see their comments were Click here to enter a date. ☐ City Attorney Finance adequately addressed and sign-off for the City Manager to conduct the final review. Click here to enter a date. Click here to enter a date. ☐ ☐ TUES noon City Manager Final review and approval Click here to enter a date. ☐