HomeMy WebLinkAboutCD General Plan 2040 - Downtown Precise Plan____________________________________________________________________________________
FOR CITY CLERK ONLY
Council Meeting: October 19, 2020
Disposition: Accepted report
Agenda Item No: 6.a
Meeting Date: October 19, 2020
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
Department: Community Development
Prepared by: Paul A. Jensen
Community Development Director
Barry Miller, Consulting Project Mgr.
City Manager Approval: ____________
TOPIC: GENERAL PLAN 2040 / DOWNTOWN PRECISE PLAN
SUBJECT: GENERAL PLAN 2040 PROGRESS REPORT #5
RECOMMENDATION:
Accept Report.
BACKGROUND:
Staff is providing the fifth Progress Report (Progress Report #5) to the City Council on the San Rafael
General Plan 2040 Update. The Progress Report provides an opportunity to brief the City Council on the
status of the project and solicit input on upcoming milestones. Progress Report #1 was presented to the
City Council on March 4, 2019. Report #2 was presented on July 15, 2019. Progress Report #3 occurred
on December 2, 2019 and covered activities completed between July and November 2019. Progress
Report #4 was delivered on July 6, 2020 and focused on new transportation standards.
This fifth report includes a discussion of the following topics
•Status of General Plan 2040
•Status of Downtown Precise Plan
•Status of Environmental Impact Report
•Status of Transportation-Related General Plan Deliverables (TIS Guidelines, Fee Update)
•Schedule and Process for Adoption
Each of the listed topics is discussed below.
A separate staff report has been prepared to update the City Council on initiatives related to Sea Level
Rise. These initiatives are part of the General Plan Update and are referenced in two reports that will
become appendices to General Plan 2040.
1.General Plan 2040
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General Plan 2040 was launched in December 2017. The updated Plan moves the time horizon forward
to 2040, edits the Plan to reflect current conditions and forecasts, and adds new elements to comply with
State law. While the update is primarily a “refresh” of the existing plan rather than a brand-new plan,
changes to the document address the evolving state of the city and region, and cover issues such as
climate change, social equity, and emerging transportation technology. The three-year planning process
gathered and analyzed data on these issues; audited each goal, policy, and action in the existing General
Plan; and added new and updated policies.
The City Council appointed a 24-member Steering Committee, representing a wide range of
advocacies in our community, to guide the Plan Update process. The Steering Committee was
supplemented by 22 Alternates. The Committee met 25 times between January 2018 and June 2020;
the last three meetings took place virtually as Zoom webinars. All Committee meetings were open to
the public. Each meeting was three hours long and included discussion of key planning issues as well
as existing and proposed goals, policies, and programs. Policies were developed through an iterative
process involving multiple rounds of review and comment by Committee members. The Committee was
not established as a recommending body, but rather a sounding board to express the diverse range of
opinions relative to long-range planning policies. There was rarely full consensus, but all opinions were
heard and considered.
In addition to the Steering Committee meetings, Staff also convened community workshops on the
General Plan, including formal meetings at community centers and informal “pop-up” workshops at
Farmers Markets and the Downtown Art Walk. The outreach program also included storefront exhibits,
youth participation exercises, and attendance at numerous meetings of neighborhood associations,
civic organizations, and City boards and commissions. The City created a website for the project,
including a link to a related interactive website that has attracted more than 300 subscribers. Staff has
also solicited input from other public agencies, such as the County, the School Districts, and the
Transportation Authority of Marin. Community engagement also included a Spanish language
engagement program conducted in collaboration with Canal Alliance, with the outcomes summarized in
a survey report.
The General Plan is organized into “elements” or topical chapters. A comparison of the elements in
General Plan 2020 and the new General Plan 2040 is provided in Table 1. General Plan 2040
maintains most of the 2020 elements, but includes a few changes:
• The Air and Water Quality Element has been incorporated into the Conservation Element. The
scope of the Conservation Element has also been expanded to specifically address Climate
Change, and its goals and policies have been aligned with the Climate Change Action Plan.
• Sustainability is treated as a “thread” that runs throughout the General Plan, with policies and
programs distributed over several elements rather than contained in a single element as they
were in General Plan 2020.
• The Community Design Element has been expanded to more comprehensively cover historic
preservation.
• The Governance Element has been replaced by an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Element,
meeting new State requirements to address these issues (as well as environmental justice) in
the General Plan.
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• The Parks and Recreation Element and the Open Space Element have been combined,
recognizing their complementary content.
• The Infrastructure Element has been expanded to also cover Community Services.
• A number of appendices have been added to the Plan, including a Sea Level Rise Adaptation
Report, and an Implementation Appendix that identifies responsible parties and timing for key
Plan programs.
Table 1: General Plan 2020 and General Plan 2040 Element Comparison
General Plan 2020 General Plan 2040
Land Use (*) Land Use (*)
Neighborhoods Neighborhoods
Community Design Community Design and Preservation
Conservation (*) Conservation and Climate Change (*)
Air and Water Quality
Sustainability
Parks and Recreation Parks, Recreation and Open Space (*)
Open Space (*)
Safety (*) Safety and Resilience (*)
Noise (*) Noise (*)
Circulation (*) Mobility (*)
Infrastructure Community Services and Infrastructure
Culture and Arts Arts and Culture
Economic Vitality Economic Vitality
Governance Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (*)
Housing (*) Housing (*)
(*) mandatory element
Like General Plan 2020, the updated General Plan retains a “Neighborhoods” Element. This Element
allows citywide policies to be expressed at a more fine-grained level by referencing specific locations
and priorities within approximately 33 distinct geographic areas. The element has been reorganized to
group neighborhoods into five planning areas. The text has been updated to reflect current data and
input from neighborhood organizations across the city. Most of the policy direction provided by General
Plan 2020 has been carried forward, although Downtown policies have been updated and there are
program recommendations to prepare community plans (potentially precise plans, specific plans, etc.)
for the North San Rafael Town Center area and Southeast San Rafael/ Canal.
The General Plan also includes an Introduction and a new “Framework” chapter that summarizes major
trends shaping the city as well as Guiding Principles. General Plan 2040 does not include an updated
Housing Element, as that will be prepared in 2021-22 in accordance with the regional housing needs
assessment now underway.
Each element of the General Plan follows the same basic structure. The content is organized around a
set of broad goals related to the topic. Each goal is followed by background information, policies, and
programs. The policies provide general direction on day to day activities. The programs indicate
specific actions to be carried out to implement the policies. Maps are included throughout the
document to communicate policies spatially or provide background data. Text boxes are included to
highlight key programs or further explain Plan concepts.
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It is important to keep in mind that adoption of the General Plan, in and of itself, does not immediately
change City rules, regulations or procedures. The Plan is intended as a road map for the next 20
years. The programs identified in the document reflect measures to be taken between now and 2040 to
achieve the goals. Implementation of these programs will require future staff time and financial
resources.
General Plan 2040 includes an updated Land Use Map for San Rafael. The Map uses 20 color-coded
categories to illustrate the land uses and densities (or intensities) permitted across the Planning Area.
Several changes to the category definitions have been made, and a number of categories on the 2020
General Plan Map have been consolidated. Densities are now expressed using net density rather than
gross density.1 This does not change the number of units permitted, but better aligns the General Plan
densities with the Zoning Ordinance and is more consistent with best practices for communities with
similar development patterns to San Rafael. The changes to the Map will have little effect on the built
environment, as few substantive changes are proposed.
General Plan 2040 recognizes that San Rafael is a mature city with few vacant tracts of land for
development. In general, it reinforces existing land use policies. Future development is focused on
infill sites in Downtown, the Northgate (North San Rafael Town Center) area, and the Southeast San
Rafael commercial and industrial districts. A “sea level rise” overlay has been added to the map,
showing areas that may be impacted by sea level rise by 2050. The Draft Plan includes a number of
priority actions, including preparation of plans for the Priority Development Areas (PDAs) recently
designated at Northgate and Southeast San Rafael.
Status of Key Work Products
A project website (www.sanrafael2040.org) was created at the start of the General Plan Update
process and has been updated regularly throughout the project. The website includes a “Documents”
tab that includes a number of work products currently available for review. In May 2020, the City
posted the draft General Plan 2040 goals, policies, and programs to the website. Comments on this
draft were received over the summer and incorporated into the Public Review Draft.
The City published Chapters 1-9 of the General Plan on October 2, 2020. Chapters 10-14 were
published on October 16, 2020. The elements may be downloaded from the project website as PDF
files. The website also includes the Draft 2040 Land Use Map, which the City Council discussed in
February 2020. The website also contains a series of “Existing Conditions” reports covering topics
such as land use, parks and recreation, demographics, and environmental justice.
2. Downtown Precise Plan
In 2018, City of San Rafael received a $500,000 grant from the Association of Bay Area Governments/
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (ABAG/ MTC) to prepare a Precise Plan for Downtown San
Rafael. The intent was to update the existing Downtown Plan, which had been prepared in 1993, and
to incorporate the more recent Downtown SMART Station Area Plan (2012) as well as other plans and
studies for Downtown completed over the last few years (Parking and Wayfinding Study, Bicycle and
Pedestrian Master Plan, etc.). The grant created “collateral” opportunities, such as updating the
inventory of Downtown historic resources, and developing new zoning regulations for Downtown that
are more responsive to the area’s context and scale.
1 Gross density includes streets, easements, and undevelopable areas. Net density excludes these areas.
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In January 2019, the City retained Opticos Design, Inc. (Opticos) as the Downtown Precise Plan
consultant. Opticos surveyed existing conditions, reviewed the 1993 and 2012 Plans, and convened a
four-day design “charrette” in May 2019, soliciting input on Downtown’s future from several hundred
participants. They subsequently developed design concepts and ideas, tested these ideas through a
community process, and developed a draft Precise Plan. Concurrently, an updated field survey of
Downtown historic resources was completed, facilitating future historic preservation activities while
creating development streamlining opportunities on non-historic sites. A Working Draft Plan for staff
review was completed in April 2020.
In May 2020, City Staff reviewed the Working Draft and provided extensive comments to the
consultants. Staff determined that the Working Draft would benefit from further review and discussion
by the General Plan 2040 Steering Committee and formed an ad hoc sub-committee comprised of six
members of the Steering Committee. The sub-committee met with staff and the consultants four times
during July and August 2020 and provided additional direction. Final revisions will be completed by the
end of October. Staff expects to release the Draft Downtown Precise Plan for public review in mid-
November. An appendix to the document includes detailed historic resource data for Downtown.
The Draft Downtown Precise Plan includes nine chapters. Following an introduction and “existing
conditions” discussion, the Plan provides design principles and a design vision for Downtown. It
identifies four subareas: (a) Transit Village; (b) Downtown Core; (c) West End Village; and (d)
Montecito Commercial area. Illustrative design concepts for each subarea show public improvements
such as new plazas and bike paths and private improvements such as infill development and adaptive
reuse of historic buildings. The overall intent is to make Downtown more walkable, attractive,
economically successful, and sustainable.
Chapter 5 of the Precise Plan covers historic preservation. The chapter describes the findings of the
2019 historic resources survey and presents recommendations for amending the City’s Historic
Preservation Ordinance. It includes strategies to preserve historic resources and ensure that adaptive
reuse of older structures makes economic sense.
Chapter 6 addresses Transportation and Parking. It evaluates the Downtown circulation system and
identifies improvements to make walking and bicycling safer and more convenient. It also responds to
vehicle circulation issues, and the need to improve access to transit (including “last mile” trips to and
from the Transit Center/ SMART station). The Plan incorporates recent recommendations from the
Third Street corridor improvement program and the 2018 Parking and Wayfinding study.
Chapter 7 of the Precise Plan is an affordable housing and anti-displacement strategy. The chapter
recognizes the importance of affordable housing to Downtown and the need to preserve existing
affordable housing resources. Chapter 8 provides an implementation strategy, including economic
development actions and potential capital improvements.
The final chapter of the Precise Plan is a Form Based Code. The Code will replace existing zoning
regulations for Downtown, and is focused on the physical form (height, mass, bulk, setbacks, etc.) of
buildings rather than the uses that occur within those buildings. In some respects, the Code is more
flexible than the existing Code (particularly with respect to uses). In other respects, it is more
prescriptive, as it identifies specific requirements for building frontages, step backs (recessing of upper
floors), and treatment of historic properties. The trade-off for the prescriptive requirements is a
streamlined review process for conforming projects, and a more pedestrian-friendly building form that
enhances the character of Downtown.
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Status of Key Work Products
Staff anticipates that the Downtown Precise Plan will be published as a Public Review Draft in mid-
November 2020. In the interim period, supporting work products are available on the General Plan
website. These include the Downtown Profile Report, the Downtown Options Report (part 1) and (part
2), and a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the recommendations of the proposed Plan. In addition,
Opticos has prepared a six-part video tutorial on Form Based Codes for the City, which is available on
YouTube.
3. Environmental Impact Report.
A program-level Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is being prepared to identify potential impacts and
mitigation measures associated with adoption of the General Plan 2040 and Downtown Precise Plan.
The EIR evaluates the impacts of adding approximately 4,400 housing units and 4,100 jobs across the
San Rafael Planning Area over a 20-year period. It is estimated that roughly half of this increase will
occur within the Downtown Precise Plan boundaries. Accordingly, each section of the EIR includes an
evaluation of citywide impacts and then an evaluation of Downtown impacts.
All required CEQA topics are addressed in the EIR. Where potential significant impacts are identified,
mitigation measures are identified. The EIR reflects recent State requirements for addressing
transportation impacts (SB 743), which prohibit the use of Level of Service (LOS) as a metric for
evaluating significant impacts and instead require the use of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT). The City
Council has held several hearings in the last year to discuss this transition.
Status of Key Work Products
The Draft EIR has not yet been published. Staff has been reviewing Administrative Draft chapters
since June 2020 and providing feedback to the consultants. The anticipated publication date for the
document is November 13, 2020.
Once the Draft EIR is released, a 60-day public comment period will begin (ending January 14, 2021).
The Draft EIR will be circulated to state agencies, as well as other local governments, service
providers, special districts, and Native American tribal representatives. Public comment also will be
invited during this time. At the conclusion of the comment period, written responses to comments will
be provided and appropriate revisions to the Draft EIR will be made. A Final EIR (FEIR) will be
prepared for Planning Commission consideration and Council adoption.
4. Transportation-Focused Initiatives
The General Plan Update includes two concurrent transportation initiatives, each discussed below:
• Update of the Traffic Mitigation Fee to reflect General Plan 2040
• Implementation of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) standards for environmental review and
updated requirements for traffic studies for proposed development projects
Transportation Fees. San Rafael’s traffic mitigation fees were enacted in 1988 in connection with
General Plan 2000. Like General Plan 2000 and General Plan 2020, the new General Plan 2040
includes a list of needed transportation improvements and a program for partially covering the cost of
these improvements through a development impact fee. Assembly Bill 1600 allows cities to collect
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 7
impact fees to offset the impact that new development has on public services and infrastructure,
including transportation facilities.
Working in collaboration with City staff, the City’s traffic consultant, Fehr & Peers, has developed a list
of needed improvements along with preliminary cost estimates. The improvements include unbuilt (but
still needed) projects carried forward from General Plan 2020, as well as projects in the City’s Bicycle
and Pedestrian Master Plan and other transportation-related plans. They also reflect the findings of the
traffic analysis completed as part of General Plan 2040. Staff and the consultants are in the process of
determining potential adjustments to existing fees and will be bringing a proposal to the Council for
consideration in early 2021. The objective is to adopt the updated fees concurrently with General Plan
2040.
VMT and LOS Standards. As the City Council is aware, recent State legislation stipulates that the City
may no longer use Level of Service (LOS) as the standard for determining whether new development
has a significant transportation impact under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Consistent with SB 743, the City has shifted to a new CEQA standard based on Vehicle Miles Traveled
(VMT). In other words, the significance of a proposed project is evaluated based on the total number of
vehicle miles (e.g., the amount of driving) it may induce once it is completed. The Council had several
meetings in 2019 and early 2020 to discuss proposed new VMT standards.
At prior hearings on this topic, the Council has also expressed its interest in retaining Level of Service
(LOS) as a planning and development review tool. General Plan 2040 follows this direction and
includes both VMT and LOS standards. The intent of the VMT standards (in addition to CEQA
compliance) is to support City efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing trip lengths and
making it easier to walk, bicycle, and use transit. The intent of the LOS standards is to manage
congestion and ensure that new development contributes to the cost of improving the transportation
network to reduce delays. Even in Downtown San Rafael, where LOS standards will not apply, traffic
studies will continue to be required to determine the need for localized transportation improvements.
Given the complexity of the new requirements and their potential to increase development costs, staff
(through its consultant) is preparing traffic impact study (TIS) guidelines for Council consideration.
Preparation of TIS guidelines was also requested by the public during comments made at prior Council
hearings on VMT and LOS. The intent of the guidelines is to clearly lay out the City’s expectations and
requirements for both VMT analysis and LOS analysis. One of the objectives of the TIS guidelines is to
ensure that the requirements support the City’s development objectives, and do not create a cost
burden for desirable projects.
Staff anticipates bringing the TIS Guidelines forward for further Council discussion in late 2020 or early
2021.
ANALYSIS:
A preliminary schedule for General Plan Adoption process has been prepared. A briefing to the Planning
Commission took place on September 15, 2020, formally beginning the process. The Planning
Commission is the formal hearing body for the General Plan, Downtown Precise Plan, and EIR and will
make a recommendation to the City Council (via a series of resolutions) at the end of its hearing process.
The City Council will then conduct additional hearings and is ultimately responsible for adopting the Plans
and the EIR. Staff will provide progress reports to the City Council during the Planning Commission review
process as needed.
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 8
Given the size and complexity of the General Plan, Downtown Precise Plan, and EIR, the documents are
being released in phases. As noted earlier in this report, General Plan 2040 has recently been posted to
the City’s website and is now available for public review.
The Downtown Precise Plan and EIR are tentatively planned for publication in mid-November 2020. The
Planning Commission will convene at least five public hearings on these documents, and potentially more
if needed.
Staff anticipates that the Planning Commission will conduct its first public hearing on the General Plan
on October 27, focusing on the first half of the document. Its second public hearing will be on November
12 (a Thursday, due to a furlough on the regular meeting date), covering the second half of the document
(and follow-up to questions or earlier comments about the first half).
We anticipate release of the Draft Downtown Precise Plan and the Draft Environmental Impact Report
(DEIR) on or around November 13, 2020. The DEIR will be filed with the State Office of Planning and
Research (OPR) Clearinghouse at that time, beginning a 60-day public comment period that will conclude
on January 14, 2021. These dates are tentative and are subject to change.
The Planning Commission will take up the Downtown Precise Plan at its December 15, 2020 meeting.
The December meeting will also provide an opportunity for follow-up on issues raised at the October and
November hearings on the General Plan. An opportunity to provide comments on the EIR will be
available at the January 12, 2021 meeting. The January 12th meeting will also provide an opportunity for
follow-up discussion on the Downtown Precise Plan, primarily on the Form Based Code. If needed,
another meeting on the Form Based Code and final direction on the Downtown Plan will be scheduled
for January 26, 2021.
Tentatively, Commission action on resolutions forwarding the General Plan, Downtown Precise Plan, and
EIR to the City Council would occur in March 2021, following completion of the Final EIR and any
necessary revisions to the General Plan and Downtown Precise Plan. It is expected that major issues
will be resolved through the Commission hearings, allowing for a smaller number of Council hearings.
Council hearings are projected to occur in April and May, with adoption in May.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH:
A public notice of this meeting was mailed to stakeholders, agencies and special interest groups 15-days
prior to this meeting (Attachment 1). Those noticed included, among others, all neighborhood
associations in the city, the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce, and members of the General Plan 2040
Steering Committee. Notice of this report was also provided on the General Plan 2040 meetings and
events webpage.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This progress report is informational and has no fiscal impact on the City budget.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Accept Report
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Meeting Notice
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING – CITY COUNCIL
You are invited to view and participate online for the City Council hearing on the following project:
PROJECT: PROGRESS REPORT #5 ON SAN RAFAEL GENERAL PLAN 2040- An update on General Plan 2040 will be presented to the
City Council, including the Downtown Precise Plan and Form Based Code, Environmental Impact Report, Traffic Impact Fee study, and
upcoming adoption schedule. The report will include introduction on the upcoming release of public review drafts of the Draft General Plan
2040, Downtown Precise Plan and EIR. Following the presentation of the Progress Report, the City Council will be presented with a summary
of the Sea Level Rise Adaptation Report and Study, which have been prepared for the General Plan 2040. Case Nos.GPA16-001 & P16-013.
State law (California Environmental Quality Act) requires that this project be reviewed to determine if a study of potential environmental effects is required. It has
been determined that this project, which is an informational report, will have no physical impact on the environment. This informational report is classified as a
planning study, which qualifies for a Statutory Exemption from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines under 14 CRR Section 15262.
MEETING DATE/TIME/LOCATION: Monday, October 19, 2020, 7:00 p.m. COVID-19 ADVISORY NOTICE: Consistent with Executive
Orders No’s.-25-20 and N-29-20 from the Executive Department of the State of California and the Marin County 3/16/20 Shelter in Place Order,
the City Council hearing of October 19, 2020 WILL NOT be physically open to the public and the meeting will be streamed live to YouTube at
www.youtube.com/sanrafael. Instructions on how to participate online, will be available on the YouTube channel.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Barry Miller, Project Manager, at (415) 485-3423 or barry.miller@cityofsanrafael.org. Please note
that City offices are currently closed to public walk-in, but you may contact the planner for more information. You may 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 informational report and options presented in the report. The City Council will consider all
public testimony. However, as this item is an informational report, no formal action will be taken by the City Council.
IF YOU WANT TO COMMENT: You may provide comments to the planner using the contact information listed above prior to the meeting. You
may also comment on line during the meeting using a chat feature on YouTube or through a conference call (number will be provided on
agenda)
At the above time and place, all letters 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)).
Appeals of decisions by the Planning Commission to the City Council shall be made by filing a notice thereof in writing with the required fee to the Planning Division of the Community
Development Department within 5 working days of a decision involving Title 14 (Zoning) (SRMC Section 14.28.030) or within 10 calendar days of a decision involving Title 15
(Subdivisions) (SRMC 15.56.010).
Language interpreters and assistive listening devices may be requested by calling (415) 485-3066 (voice), emailing Lindsay.lara@cityofsanrafael.org or using the California
Telecommunications Relay Service by dialing “711”, at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting. Copies of documents are available in accessible formats upon request. Public
transportation is available through Golden Gate Transit, Line 22 or 23. Paratransit 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.
~SAN RAFAEL
~ THE CITY WITH A MISSION