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Home My WebLink AboutDRB 2020-11-04 Minutes MINUTES San Rafael Design Review Board Regular Meeting Wednesday, November 4, 2020, 7:00 P.M. Virtual Meeting Listen online: https://tinyurl.com/DRB-2020-11-04 Telephone: (669) 900-9128 Meeting ID: 823-0970-4098# Present: Chair Kent Member Blayney Vice Chair Paul Member Rege Member Summers Absent: None Also Present: Steve Stafford, Senior Planner Alicia Giudice, Principal Planner Paul Jensen, Community Development Director CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. All board members were present. Alternate Member Donald Blayney served as full-voting member due to vacancy of Member Samina Saude. NEW BUSINESS 1. Project: Report on Possible Changes to Design Review Board Structure and Processes. Review and solicit feedback on possible changes to the DRB structure and process by adopting a temporary pilot program creating a Design Review Advisory Committee (DRAC) on certain projects. Project Planner: Alicia Giudice Recommended Action – Accept report and provide feedback to staff Three residents provided comments. • Shirley Fischer stated the DRAC appears to add work rather than streamline the processing time and a project’s site should not be used as a benchmark for determining what is reviewed by the full DRB or the DRAC. • Kate Powers expressed concern with streamline the DRB process. She believes it imperative to preserve public input in the design review process.She prefers to keep the current five (5)-member DRB as currently structured. • Victoria DeWitt also indicated her preference to keeping the current full DRB structure. She indicated hillside development should be reviewed by the full DRB and not the DRAC. Recommends further exploration of which projects may be reviewed by the DRAC. Recommends the City also review the processing structure for Zoning Administrator hearings which creates a Zoning Administrator who is not also in the dual role of being the project planner. Recommends including the DRAC in Zoning Administrator reviews for smaller projects. Discussion at this Study Session included common ideas such as: • Preserve some opportunity for public input/participation, even of written comments only • DRAC (DRB Subcommittee) should be preserved for use in concert with utilization of full DRB. Clear guidelines should be adopted for which projects should go to the DRAC, though staff should have the discretion to take a design item to the full DRB if potentially controversial • DRAC membership should be three DRB members (two licensed architects and one landscape architect), rotated annually like the chair and vice chair of the full DRB • DRB supports staff taking complex projects to the Planning Commission before DRB review for non-design land use policy applications • Staff should investigate reducing the length of staff reports for efficiencies • It would be helpful if staff would provide details to the DRB when this item returns to them on how many DRB items in 2018 and 2019 would have utilized DRAC ADJOURNMENT Chair Kent adjourned the meeting at 8:00 p.m. ______________________ LINDSAY LARA, City Clerk APPROVED THIS _____DAY OF____________, 2020 _____________________________________ JEFF KENT, Chair