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Home My WebLink AboutDRB 2023-03-07 Minutes Design Review Board Regular Meeting Tuesday, March 7, 2023 7:00 P.M. AGENDA Participate In-Person: San Rafael City Council Chambers 1400 Fifth Avenue, San Rafael, CA 94901 Or Participate Virtually: Watch on Webinar: https://tinyurl.com/drb-2023 Telephone: 1 (669) 444-9171 Meeting ID: 885 6816 1418 CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) ADVISORY NOTICE In response to Assembly Bill 361, the City of San Rafael is offering teleconference without complying with the procedural requirements of Government Code section 54953(b)(3). This meeting will be held in-person and virtually using Zoom. How to participate in the meeting in-person: • Stay home if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms • Face coverings are recommended for attendees • Use the sign-in sheet (optional) which allows notification of potentially exposed individuals if contact tracing reveals COVID-19 transmission may have occurred in a given meeting. • Attendance will be limited to 50 percent of room capacity (no more than 90 persons) and all in-person attendees should socially distance as recommended by public health authorities. If the Chambers are 50% occupied, please participate online instead, or utilize the audio feed in the lobby. • All attendees are encouraged to be fully vaccinated. How to participate in the meeting virtually: • Submit public comment in writing before 4:00 p.m. the day of the meeting to PlanningPublicComment@cityofsanrafael.org. • Join the Zoom webinar and use the 'raise hand' feature to provide verbal public comment. • Dial-in to Zoom's telephone number using the meeting ID and provide verbal public comment. Any member of the public who needs accommodations should contact the City Clerk (email city.clerk@cityofsanrafael.org or phone at 415-485-3066) who will use their best efforts to provide reasonable accommodations to provide as much accessibility as possible while also maintaining public safety in accordance with the City procedure for resolving reasonable accommodation requests. CALL TO ORDER Chair Rege called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Chair Rege then invited Staff & Senior Planner Jeff Ballantine to call roll. RECORDING OF MEMBERS PRESENT AND ABSENT Present: Chair Rege Board Member Michael Alexin Board Member Jeff Kent Alternate Board Member Donald Blayney Absent: Vice Chair Sharon Kovalsky Board Member Stewart Summers Also Present: Jeff Ballantine, Staff, Senior Planner & DRB Secretary PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF MEETING PROCEDURES Chair Rege invited Staff & Senior Planner, Jeff Ballantine, to inform the public that members they can provide public comment either in person in the Council Chambers, by telephone or via zoom with the raise hand feature. Written comments submitted prior to the meeting time would be read aloud into the record during the public comment portion of each item. Chair Rege reviewed the procedures for the meeting. URGENT ORAL/EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC Chair Rege called for any comments from the public on items NOT on the agenda. There were no public comments. CONSENT CALENDAR Chair Rege invited public comment on the Consent Calendar. There was no comment on the Consent Calendar. 1. Approval of the Design Review Board Meeting Minutes of December 6, 2022 Member Kent moved and Member Alexin seconded to approve the Minutes as submitted. AYES: Members: Alexin, Blayney, Kent & Rege NOES: Members: None ABSENT: Members: Kovalsky, Summers ABSTAIN: Members: None Motion carried 4-0 Yes. ACTION CALENDAR Chair Rege introduced the Action Calendar and invited staff to present the Staff Report. 2. 76 Albert Park Lane – Wildcare Request for Planning Commission recommendation for an Environmental and Design Review Permit for proposed replacement of existing Wildcare wildlife hospital and educational facilities with a new attached three-story animal hospital and office building and relocating and restoring the historic Terwilliger Building on site; APN: 013-061-54; Multi-Family Zoning District (HR1.5); PLAN22-127, ED22-040 Project Planner: Jeff Ballantine (jeff.ballantine@cityofsanrafael.org) Jeff Ballantine, Senior Planner, presented the Staff Report on the project. Applicant Team gave a presentation on the project. Applicant Team and Staff responded to questions from the Board Members. Chair Rege asked for public comments. No public comment was provided. Board Members provided comments. Member Kent requested City Staff to come back to a future Design Review Board meeting to confirm whether the City can consider removing invasive plants in the rest of the San Rafael Creek, that is not immediately adjacent to the Wildcare frontage. Member Kent moved, Member Blayney seconded recommendation that the Planning Commission approve the project as proposed. AYES: Members: Alexin, Blayney, Kent & Rege NOES: Members: None ABSENT: Members: Kovalsky, Summers ABSTAIN: Members: None Motion carried 4-0 Yes. 3. 1515 4th Street, New Mixed-Use Building Request for Planning Commission recommendation for an Environmental and Design Review Permit for a proposed new seven story mixed-use building with 162 residential units and 8,900 square feet of ground floor commercial space; APN: 011-245-41; T4MS 50/70 Zoning District; PLAN22-039, ED22-016 Project Planner: Jeff Ballantine (jeff.ballantine@cityofsanrafael.org) Jeff Ballantine, Senior Planner, presented the Staff Report on the project. Applicant Team gave a presentation on the project. Applicant Team and Staff responded to questions from the Board Members. Chair Rege asked for public comments. Pubic comment was provided by 15 members of the public. A number of the comments expressed concerns regarding the following concerns: building height, impacts to street parking, traffic impacts to Shaver Street, and color of the building. A few of commenters expressed support for the proposed project. Board Members provided comments. Chair Rege moved, Member Alexin seconded recommendation that the Planning Commission approve the project if the applicant addresses the following comment: 1. Provide a different color and/or material for the two building corner columns facing 4th Street and the center building column facing 4th street from the color and material proposed for the rest of the building columns on all building elevations. AYES: Members: Alexin, Blayney, Kent & Rege NOES: Members: None ABSENT: Members: Kovalsky, Summers ABSTAIN: Members: None Motion carried 4-0 Yes. 4. Report to Design Review Board Annual Meeting of Design Review Board for 2023 to include: a) Election of Officers for 2023 Design Review Board meetings; b) Distribution and Review of Design Review Board “Rules of Order;” and c) Distribution and Review of Scheduled meeting for 2023 Project Planner: Jeff Ballantine (jeff.ballantine@cityofsanrafael.org) Jeff Ballantine, Senior Planner, presented the Staff Report on the project. Staff responded to questions from the Board Members. Chair Rege asked for public comments. No public comment was provided. Board Members provided comments. Member Kent moved, Chair Rege seconded motion to elect new DRB officers for 2023 as recommended in the staff report and adopt the amended DRB Rules of Order as presented in the staff report packet. AYES: Members: Alexin, Blayney, Kent & Rege NOES: Members: None ABSENT: Members: Kovalsky, Summers ABSTAIN: Members: None Motion carried 4-0 Yes. DIRECTOR’S REPORT Jeff Ballantine provided an update on the General Plan Annual Progress report; a City Council resolution banning camping in Albert Park; and a City Council resolution approving a vegetation management program for fire safety purposes. BOARD COMMUNICATION Board Member asked about the process for responding to members of the public on a project when their concerns are not within the purview of the DRB. ADJOURNMENT Chair Rege adjourned the meeting at 9:21 p.m. _________________________________ JEFF BALLANTINE, Senior Planner