HomeMy WebLinkAboutDRB 2012-01-18 #4Community Development Department
MEMORANDUM
DATE: January 18, 2012
TO: Chairman Kent and Board Members
FROM: Stephanie Lovette, Acting Economic Development Director'
SUBJECT: Draft Station Area Plan for Downtown San Rafael; P10-002
On January 18, 2012, the Board will be receiving a presentation on the Draft Station Area Plan
prepared for Downtown San Rafael. The City received a grant from the Metropolitan
Transportation Commission for two station area plans. The City of San Rafael is the lead
agency for the station area plans. The other public agency partners are Golden Gate Transit,
Marin Transit, TAM, SMART and the County of Marin. All partners provided some financial
contribution to the planning process. The second station area plan is for the Civic Center area
in North San Rafael, which is currently being prepared by a separate advisory committee.
As indicated above, the City Council has appointed two separate citizen committees to prepare
these plans. For the Downtown area, the City's existing Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) on
Redevelopment was appointed to also serve as the Committee for developing the plan.
The purpose for the plan is to create a land use "vision" for the area that would surround the
proposed Downtown SMART station. This type of planning effort is significantly different from a
specific plan document, in that it does not implement any zoning or General Plan policy
changes. Rather, it identifies a vision from which future land use, zoning or General Plan policy
decisions can be considered, analyzed and studied by the City. If the City ultimately determines
to implement all or portions of the vision plan, changes to zoning regulations and/or General
Plan policies may also be required at that time.
The Draft Plan is being presented to various stakeholders and partner agencies, including the
City Planning Commission and Design Review Board. The CAC will review any Planning
Commission, Design Review Board and public comments received on the plan on February 2,
2011, and provide its recommendations for the Final Plan, The City Council will be asked to
accept. the Final Plan in March 2012. The plan, as a study document, will not require an action
by resolution. Further, the plan does not require, nor does staffs analysis provide a detailed
analysis of the plan for consistency with the General Plan 2020 policies.
The Board is being asked to review the draft plan and provide comments. At the hearing, vice -
chair of the CAC, Bill Carney, will make a presentation to the Board to explain the draft plan and
the work of the Committee. You will be asked to accept the presentation at the meeting, accept
public comments, and provide Board comments.
Please review the executive summary and recommendations. The full report can be found at
www.citvofsanrafael.org/stationareaplans.