HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission 2012-06-12 #2 Correspondence (2)San Rafael Meadows Improvement Association
San Rafael
meadows
June 5, 2012
Civic Center Station Area Plan Advisory Committee
c/o Rebecca Woodbury, Management Analyst
City of San Rafael
P.O. Box 151560
San Rafael, CA 94915-1560
Re: Draft Civic Center Station Area Plan
Dear Civic Center Station Area Advisory Committee,
The San Rafael Meadows Improvement Association (SRMIA) is pleased to submit comments
on the Draft Civic Center Station Area Plan. In addition to being fortunate to have had
Meadows resident Emily Davis on the Advisory Committee, residents Gregory Andrew and
Stuart Shepherd have participated in the public process of developing the Plan. On May 29tH
we had an excellent meeting at Marin Ventures where Katie Korzun, Rebecca Woodbury,
and Emily Dean present the draft Plan. The 20+ residents who attended the meeting
appreciated being provided a thorough review of the draft Plan and the opportunity ask
questions and voice their opinions and concerns about the Plan.
On behalf of the SRMIA, please accept these comments on the Draft Plan.
General Impression of the Draft Plan
We appreciate how the Plan emphasizes the objective of protecting and enhancing the
residential neighborhoods around the station and this comes across repeatedly in the Plan. It
appears that the Advisory Committee generally shares a similar vision for the area as the
residents of San Rafael Meadows. We want to ensure that the Plan doesn't lead to undesired
effects.
Our concerns about the Draft Plan are focused on three issues: intensity of development;
parking; and building heights. Our suggestion is to temper the recommendations in the Plan
that will achieve the vision in the Plan and reduce potential adverse impacts to our
neighborhood and property values.
Vision Statement
Please find another word, other than "transitioned" in the last line of the vision statement. The
area is already enjoyable and doesn't need to be "transitioned" into that. Perhaps it would be
best to say "enhanced."
Access
We concur with the recommendations in the Plan for complete streets and bicycle and
pedestrian access.
We request that the Plan specifically state that there should not be a vehicle crossing of train
tracks at Merrydale Road or at Walter Place. While the Plan describes the difficulties in
securing a pedestrian and bicycle crossing at Merrydale, this is a 25 -year Plan and future
opinions of track crossings could change. There needs to be security that there will never be
any vehicle crossings of the tracks as this would dramatically and adversely impact the
neighborhood. This restriction is included in the North San Rafael Vision and it is important to
reinforce it in this Plan.
Parking
The Plan should include the Public Storage lot, at the end of Merrydale Road, as a potential
parking area for the station. We are extremely concerned about the potential for spill-over
parking in our neighborhood and it is clear that the Advisory Committee genuinely attempted
to address this concern. We also realize that there are limited provisions the Plan can include
to remedy spill-over parking. The idea of a parking permit program is not appealing to the
residents of San Rafael Meadows. We understand that the Plan states a permit program only
be pursued if requested by the residents. However, the alternative of allowing parking at the
Public Storage lot has been suggested and may be a more feasible solution. People who
want to access the station from the southbound lane of Highway 101 will most likely seek out
parking from Merrydale, after exiting the highway, and a parking area at the Public Storage
lot would provide that parking, a stone's throw from the station.
In addition, the Plan should recommend that parking structures should be considered for the
second story of any building 2 or more stories tall. Constructing a parking structure on the
second story of some buildings would still allow the property to offer train and residential
serving retail on the first floor and reduce the demand for on street parking.
Basis for the Development Intensity
The Plan does not provide any information that warrants the development intensity the Plan
promotes. While we understand that the Plan is meant to enhance a transit -oriented
community around the Civic Center station, there is no basis provided to support the level of
increased density that could occur from the implementation of this Plan. What information is
there that the San Rafael or Marin County population will grow to support the housing density
proposed in the Plan? The Plan does not give any such information. The economy shows few
signs of recovering to the level that would provide the demand for housing and retail in the
Plan. Projections by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) have been
questioned and debated and, unfortunately, may not be a reliable source of data for the
Advisory Committee and City to rely on. As noted in this link to an April Marin IJ article:
http://www.marinii.com/novato/ci_20443173/marin-county-queries-abag^jobs-housing-projections
the Marin County Board of Supervisors recently questioned ABAGs job and housing
forecasts and have asked for a peer review of those projections. This is hardly an
endorsement for dramatically increasing housing densities. Aside from growth projections,
where is the information that would support a flux of people who will actually move to within
walking distance of the Civic Center station? Certainly there may be some but what
information is there that there would be anything close to the numbers that the Plan
seemingly anticipates? The Plans lack any of this basic information and as such the Plan
may be fatally flawed. A wholesale evaluation of growth projections should be conducted and
included in the Plan.
The Plan itself presents a conflict regarding the development potential it seemingly promotes.
Table 3 in the Plan indicates that there is a maximum capacity for 620 residential dwelling
units that could be added in the entire Plan area. At the same time, the Plan recommends
multi -story housing units be built throughout the area. If there were full build out, as proposed
in the Plan, the number of housing units would likely far exceed maximum capacity available.
The Plan does not provide a basis for this amount of housing development and it does not
even analyze how many units could be built per the recommendations in the Plan. The Plan
should provide this information and scale the development recommendations to fit within
what might realistically be built over the next 25 years. While the Plan might still want to
recommend housing in a variety of locations, the size and density of that housing should not
overwhelm the capacity.
As mentioned above, the Plan does a good job of recognizing existing neighborhoods and
expressing the desire to protect the neighborhoods. The Plan should also acknowledge those
existing institutions that serve the community. Guide Dogs for the Blind and Marin Ventures
are examples. Both facilities walk through Rafael Meadows and they are a part of the
character of the neighborhood. The Marin Ventures facility serves a population that has found
its location on Merrydale Road to be a very safe area and they would like to remain there.
The Plan should support these institutions staying in the area and not be forced to relocate.
Building Heights
The Plan should recommend a maximum of 3 stories for buildings along both Merrydale
Road and Redwood Highway. Taller buildings would look down on Rafael Meadows
properties, adversely effecting privacy and property values. Currently the majority, the
majority of buildings along Merrydale and Redwood Highway are 1- or 2 -stories tall, with only
two buildings being 3 -stories tall. The goals of the Plan could still be met with buildings along
both streets limited to no more than 3 stories.
The Plan must not recommend 4 story buildings on the Marin Ventures, Public Storage, or
Northgate Storage lots and it would be unacceptable if the Plan were to allow such massive
structures. This would be the equivalent of constructing the Extended Stay Hotel (on E.
Francisco Blvd.), the 33 North Building (between N. San Pedro and San Pablo Ave.), or the
Whole Foods building (on DeLong in Novato) across the street from the single -story,
residential properties along Las Flores Ave. or Corrillo Road in San Rafael Meadows. Such
tall buildings would be completely out of character with the neighborhood and would destroy
the privacy and values of those properties. No amount of design modifications would mitigate
those impacts. When the Advisory Committee drafted its Land Use statement, the consensus
was that all buildings along Merrydale should not be any more than 3 -stories tall; there was
no consensus for 4 -story buildings at the Marin Ventures, Public Storage, or Northgate
Storage lots; any inference to this should be removed from the Plan.
The Plan should recommend that no more than a single -story building be allowed on the
Danny Market site on Merrydale Road. The existing, single -story building backs up to the
Rafael Meadows properties along Las Flores Ave. A 2- or 3 -story building would look down
into the back yards of these properties.
The Plan should recommend that no more than a 2 -story building be allows on the Casa de
Rafael apartments parcel at 171 Merrydale Road. The existing 2 -story building backs up to
the Rafael Meadows properties along Corrillo. Drive and El Prado Ave. A 3 -story building
would adversely impact these residences.
The Plan should recommend no taller than 3 -story buildings along Redwood Highway. If
there were 4 -story buildings along Redwood, they would not be blocked by the buildings
along Merrydale and they would still look down onto our neighborhood.
The Plan describes the section of creek and a drainage easement/parking strip along
Merrydale Road as a buffer between the San Rafael Meadows neighborhood and buildings
along Merrydale (see Section 5.8.1). The creek and drainage easement are both narrow and
really do not provide any buffer so please remove this statement.
We are attaching several photographs to show the perspective of constructing 4 -story
buildings along Redwood Highway or at the Public Storage, Marin Ventures, or Northgate
Storage parcels on Merrydale. In addition is a photo of the obvious impact to privacy that
residential properties on San Pedro Road have experienced from the 4 -story 33 North
building. The comparison photos were selected to be as close to scale and vantage point to
one another as possible. They provide a visual representation of the impacts that would result
from 4 -story buildings in our neighborhood.
Thank you for giving these comments consideration and please include this letter as an
attachment to the final Plan, to retain our comments for future reference. We appreciate the
process and your own time and effort that has gone into preparing this Plan. We look forward
to continuing to engage with the Advisory Committee and City on this Plan as it moves to
conclusion.
Sincerely,
Scott Urquhart,
U
SRMIA President
cc: San Rafael City Council
San Rafael Planning Commission
San Rafael Design Review Board
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