HomeMy WebLinkAboutRA Minutes 2004-05-17SRCC MINUTES (Special) 10/05/04 Page 1
IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2004 AT 6:00 PM
Special Meeting:
San Rafael City Council
Present: Albert J. Boro, Mayor
Cyr N. Miller, Vice -Mayor
Paul M. Cohen, Councilmember
Barbara Heller, Councilmember
Gary O. Phillips, Councilmember
Absent: None
Also Present: Rod Gould, City Manager
Gary T. Ragghianti, City Attorney
Jeanne M. Leoncini, City Clerk
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
Public Hearing — SAN RAFAEL DESIGN GUIDELINES. APN: CITYWIDE AND SAN RAFAEL
PLANNING AREA; CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, APPLICANT. FILE NO.: GPA 03-002 (CD)
FILE 115 (2020)
Mayor Boro declared the public hearing opened.
Principal Planner Linda Jackson stated this was the last of four public hearings on the General Plan and
various implementing programs. She indicated these were the two final implementing programs staff had
worked on for Council to adopt in conjunction with the Draft General Plan.
Ms. Jackson noted a number of community design element programs addressing Design Guidelines for
various areas and various types of development in the City. The staff report was a compilation of the
current guidelines —
Downtown Guidelines adopted in 1996;
Montecito/Happy Valley Design Guidelines adopted in 1996. These are residential Design
Guidelines only applying within the Montecito/Happy Valley neighborhood; and
The unadopted Design Guidelines prepared in the early 1990s for the Francisco Boulevard area,
both east and west. Ms. Jackson stated these were never adopted; however, staff referred to
them to provide some direction on projects in that area.
Ms. Jackson indicated that the Guidelines were complied into one document primarily for the benefit of
current planners and applicants; therefore, there is one document in one place with the design direction
available at this point. Noting the Montecito Guidelines had worked out fairly well for residential
development she stated staff wanted to give them a citywide profile so they could be used and applied in
other parts of the City.
Emphasizing that these were interim Guidelines, Ms. Jackson stated staff worked with Anne Laird -
Blanton from the Design Review Board, who acknowledged that these were not intended to be the final
comprehensive set of guidelines for San Rafael.
Ms. Jackson stated staff recommended these Guidelines and that they serve until preparation and
adoption of a more complete and embracing set of Design Guidelines. She indicated that this evening's
purpose was to hold a public hearing on the Draft Guidelines and provide staff direction on any changes
Council might have.
Hugo Landecker, Gerstle Park, addressing the Second and Third Streets corridor and environs on Page
15 of the staff report, stated he had a concern that new structures on the south side of Second Street
would potentially impact the existing residential areas to the south. With the inclusion density bonuses,
heights bonuses, etc., he believed it would make the impact on the existing residential more than
significant.
Regarding the residential areas, other than Second and Third Streets, Mr. Landecker noted people
purchase a small house, rapidly making it much bigger, and some were getting out of control. He
indicated he would like to see in the future a direction towards a floor area ratio program.
Regarding Historic and Architecturally Significant Buildings on page 16 of the staff report, Mr. Landecker
referred to the second bullet point: "New buildings, additions or major remodels in the vicinity of a
building in the survey should respect the pattern, scale and design of the older building, and not create
visual distractions." He wholeheartedly supported this and believed it to be a major revolution in historic
preservation. He noted a lot of burdens were placed on the owners of these properties while not
SRCC MINUTES (Special) 10/054/04 Page 1
SRCC MINUTES (Special) 10/05/04 Page 2
burdening adjacent properties, and believed this to be a step in the right direction.
Tymber Cavasian, 22 Bayview Street, Gerstle Park, stated that throughout the elements residents had
pointed out the area of deepest concern and she was aware Council was considering these.
Ms. Cavasian encouraged clarification that the Residential Design Guidelines applied to all types of
issues that affected the exterior elevation, thereby, not creating any loopholes, since sometimes lift and
was not deemed an addition, even though it appeared as though it was. She encouraged broader
language to include new construction, addition, lift and fill, renovation, anything that applied to the
exterior elevation.
Regarding scale or building design, Ms. Cavasion concurred that perhaps FAR (floor area ratio) was the
way to go towards neighborhood residential design.
Ms. Cavasian noted a lot of people were concerned about the Second and Third corridor and suggested
perhaps it needed to be expanded, treating south side separately from north side with a little
differentiation.
Ms. Cavasian supported the Historic Preservation section
Patrick Murphy, Chair Federation San Rafael Neighborhoods, stated the basic concept the Federation
would like to reiterate was that this was an interim guideline and was being developed. They
wholeheartedly supported working with both the professional organizations and individuals listed in the
staff report, i.e., Redevelopment Agency, Planning Department, Planning Commission, American
Institute of Architects and other individuals in the community with professional expertise and aesthetic
concerns regarding design. He stated they should be a vital part of the committee that develops these
guidelines as they affected everyone.
Mr. Murphy reported that during the Neighborhood Task Group meetings in the development of some of
the General Plan, the biggest issue was design. He noted design was very important in the community,
not only downtown, rather in the neighborhoods and maintaining the character of the neighborhoods was
paramount to those living in them. They believed that some of the comments brought forward should be
reiterated this evening.
Going forward in the process Mr. Murphy noted height bonuses was a point of contention. Having
discussed polarization at a recent meeting, he stated this was not needed, rather a common sense
approach to design within the community. With hillsides all around the community, he stated residents
living on these hillsides look downtown and those downtown look up. Noting the opening page stated
"We are living well in San Rafael" he stated what should not happen is to look back in 2020 and state "In
San Rafael we are living in a well." Mr. Murphy stated the hillsides were an integral part of the quality of
life in the community. Subsequent to the Downtown Vision providing the Macy's renovation, there were a
lot of comments, and he commented that this should not be experienced again. He had learned from
some Councilmembers, together with others in town, that Albert Lofts was a ball that was fumbled and
this also should not be repeated.
Mr. Murphy then commented as follows
Staff Report — Page 6 — Driveways and Parking Areas — "Where possible, ground level parking areas
should be recessed or placed to the rear of buildings." Mr. Murphy stated that underground parking
should not be discounted in any project. Regarding the San Rafael Corporate Center, he stated that had
that been cut and excavated some of the hazardous material could have been removed and underground
parking provided, resulting in a great possibility for some housing near the Transit Center. Professionally
speaking he was unsure whether this was possible or not; however, it should have been explored.
Staff Report — Page 6 — Driveways and Parking Areas — "Design for adequate vehicle maneuverability in
parking areas." Mr. Murphy stated that clear visibility of oncoming traffic should be maintained, i.e.,
vehicles should not back out onto the street and he was aware most of the design criteria
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 PM.
JEANNE M. LEONCINI, CITY CLERK
SRCC MINUTES (Special) 10/054/04 Page 2
SRCC MINUTES (Special) 10/05/04 Page 3
APPROVED THIS DAY OF 2004
MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
SRCC MINUTES (Special) 10/054/04 Page 3