HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAC 2020-08-06 MinutesPage 1 of 2
City of San Rafael
Citizens Advisory Committee for Economic Development and Affordable Housing (CAC)
Virtual Meeting Summary Notes
August 6, 2020
CAC Members Present: Mari Jones, Bill Carney, Kati Miller, Glen Koorhan, Dirck Brinckerhoff, Joe
McCallum, Gladys Gilliland, William O’Connell, Roger Smith, Andrew Naja-Riese, Madeline Silva Khan
CAC Members Absent: None
City Staff Present: Simon Vuong
Guests Present: None
Members of the Public Present: None
1. Call to Order: Chair William O’Connell called the virtual meeting to order at 7:06 pm.
2. Approval of July 2nd Meeting Notes: Approved as submitted.
3. Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items: None.
4. Discussion – “Dining Under the Lights” (Fourth Street closure for outside dining):
Discussion regarding “Dining Under the Lights” was led by Member Mari Jones. Ms. Jones stated that
she personally enjoys the program and is interested in any opportunity to expand the event to support
local businesses. The question posed by Ms. Jones to the members of the Citizens Advisory
Committee (“CAC”) was the following: what can the CAC advise on, or ask the San Rafael City Council
to make movement towards, in order to encourage the success of this program?
Member Andrew Naja-Riese remarked that adding another day to the event (which is currently on
Thursday and Friday evenings) would likely only split the customer base. However, echoing the
sentiments of other members of the CAC, he felt that a more promising opportunity would instead be
to expand the physical footprint of the event to include side streets. CAC members agreed that an
expanded footprint would allow more opportunity for businesses to operate during the event, but
there were questions raised about how much of a tangible impact the expanded footprint would have.
Member Roger Smith reminded the CAC that the winter months are approaching, which by nature will
limit the duration of this type of event.
City staff member Simon Vuong explained that the Downtown San Rafael Business Improvement
District (“BID”) has been monitoring the feedback of the downtown businesses regarding the event
thus far, and that there had been no formal consensus on what the future of the event may look like.
Mr. Vuong also remarked that prior to the launching of the event, City staff surveyed businesses in
May of this year regarding which nights would be optimal to hold the event. Mr. Vuong respectfully
reminded the CAC of several types of costs incurred by the City in order to expand the event, which
may result either by adding additional day(s) or by increasing its footprint.
Although a variety of aspects regarding the event were discussed at length, no formal motion was
proposed by any member of the CAC.
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5. Project Updates: Mr. Vuong reported that the proposed Goldstone Market Hall project at 1001
Fourth Street is in the midst of an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (“ENA”) with the City of San Rafael,
which was recently extended for an additional six months. Mr. Vuong noted that the City has a rough
idea of the concept of the development and that recent discussions had revolved around the structuring
of future public and private parking arrangements.
Mr. Vuong also noted that the WestAmerica Bank branch at 1515 Fourth Street has recently closed
operations and that the approx. 0.88 acre site is on the market for sale. He remarked that the City
planning department staff has been busy fielding inquiries from interested developers, several of which
were in the field of housing and/or residential care.
6. Suggestions for Future Agenda Items:
Member Bill Carney suggested revisiting the latest developments regarding potential revisions to the City
of San Rafael inclusionary housing requirements. Member Kati Miller raised the topic of the two named
Priority Development Areas “PDAs” of San Rafael, and what role the Citizens Advisory Committee (“CAC”)
may play in evaluating these areas for future housing development.
7. Adjournment: Chair William O’Connell adjourned the virtual meeting at 8:50 pm.
Respectfully submitted by Joe McCallum