Should it be prohibited to call a
meeting a "Public Workshop",
when it is not held on a weekday-evening or
weekend ?
III. Built Environment Element
• Most land use designations from the existing
Countywide Plan remain, although new
commercial/ residential mixed use and planned community designations
are proposed
• The maximum theoretical build out for
sensitive lands is decreased by 1,800 dwelling
units and up to 1800 additional affordable or employee dwelling units
are allowed on mixed use and transit
oriented sites, resulting in no net change
• The maximum theoretical build out of
commercial type uses is reduced by
approximately 650,000 sq. ft.
• Infill development
and a variety of neighborhood design principles, renewable energy and green building techniques are
proposed
• No revisions are recommended to the recently
adopted, State certified Housing
Element
• Travel demand management techniques and
additional transportation choices are proposed emphasizing alternatives to single occupancy automobiles
• The St.
Vincent/Silviera properties are designated "Agriculture and
Conservation 2" allowing new residences
(at a density of one dwelling unit per ten acres, plus up to 100 additional affordable housing units) and
a variety of agricultural, institutional,
hospitality, personal service, office and educational uses, as well as
a senior care facility – clustered on 5%
of the land
• The San Rafael Rock
Quarry is proposed to be designated "Planned Community" to allow reuse of the property subject to
approval of a Specific Plan
• The San Quentin
Vision Plan is included in the document and the San
Quentin Prison site is also proposed to be
designated "Planned Community" to allow redevelopment and
reuse of the site, subject to a future State decision to surplus the property,
and approval of a Specific
Plan
Initial Commission Direction #5
(Community Development.)
a. Recognize public utility company constraints
in order to manage growth instead of
automatically providing services for new development.
b. Clarify that affordable housing is excluded
from the requirement to pay for the full
cost of all services based on a required study to determine fair share
costs.
c. New policies and programs should be added to
create an affordable housing overlay to
implement the siting of the banked affordable housing units and to address
such issues as minimum densities for
multifamily-zoned properties. Limit densities based on site-specific environmental
constraints.
Initial Commission Direction #6
(Green Building & Energy.)
a. Expand the green building section and
require certification for new, large residential and non-residential development.
b. Conduct a study to determine whether to
require existing residential and nonresidential
uses to retrofit or use green building techniques during
remodeling.
Initial Commission Direction
#7 (Environmental Hazards.)
a. Add new programs to promote
neighborhood-based disaster planning and preparation.
b. Add
additional fire protection policies and programs including a new wild land
fire interface
ordinance along with coordination among MMWD, P.G. & E and the County for weed
clearance.
Initial Commission Direction # 8
(Housing)
a. Clarify that the existing, state certified
Housing Element is incorporated into the Plan.
b. Add language to another section of the Plan
regarding the opportunities for
redevelopment and community land trusts and other vehicles to provide
affordable housing and the importance of
enacting an affordable housing overlay zone.
c. The introductory section should discuss the
certification of the Housing Element.
Initial Commission Direction # 9
(Transportation)
a. Add a new scenic roadway
program.
b. Strengthen
language requiring that new development must
concurrently install transit
improvements.
c. Add rent-a-bike and a borrow-a-bike
programs.
d. Address ongoing Southern Marin visitor
transportation planning efforts.
e. Address use of school and shuttle buses for
children, seniors and others.
f. Add language promoting car sharing targeted
towards affordable, senior and student
housing projects.
Initial Commission Direction # 10
(Public Facilities)
a. Clarify and expand text regarding septic and
well regulations.
b. Expand water resource section.
c. Add new policies and programs to discourage
privatization of public utilities and
address naming practices for public utilities and
facilities.
Initial Commission Direction # 11
(Planning Areas)
a. PA#1. Clarify that for properties within the
Baylands Corridor will be subject to the low-end of the density and floor area ratio
range. Uses around airport should be
airport industry related and the existing mini-storage.
b. PA#2. Marinwood center should be
neighborhood serving and Oakview should
include residential only and not office uses. Add text describing
residential allowable uses if
Industrial, Light and Magic’s approved 650,000 sq.ft. expansion off Lucas Road is not developed. Clarify allowable
St. Vincent’s/Silvera land uses as it pertains to permitting a predominantly affordable
senior residential care facility capable of
serving up to 350 persons, and that additional "banked" residential
units would not be allowed at these
sites.
c. PA#3. Require best management practices at
the quarry to address impacts to the neighborhood from the existing
use.
d. PA#4. Add a new policy promoting affordable
housing including senior housing on the
publicly owned parcel at the Old Ross Hospital site.
e. PA#5. Summarize the San
Quentin Vision Plan but include the background, constraints, and goals. Refer to the entire
Vision Plan as a reference document and do
not include in the appendix.
f. PA#6. Address Strawberry Center, Marin City
Center, LAFCO and Richardson Bay
studies, and Southern Marin transportation plan efforts. Recognize Tam
Junction as a gateway to West Marin and
encourage residential uses.
Additional Options:
Land uses around the Gnoss Field airport could
be restricted to primarily airport related
and existing mini-storages uses. Additional language could be added
clarifying the status of the city of San
Rafael’s request to LAFCO to remove the St.
Vincent/Silviera properties from their
sphere of influence and how that pertains to development proposals in the unincorporated area. Clarifying
language could also be added that this section of the draft Plan is not intended to preclude or
limit future annexation of these properties to
the city of San Rafael. Furthermore, flexibility in clustering
requirements and the opportunity for
requesting additional land uses through the Master Plan process in an Agricultural Residential Planned zoning
district could be more fully explained. Rather
than deleting the policies and land use diagram regarding San Quentin from the draft Plan (and referring to the Vision Plan as a
reference document), the proposed text could be largely retained, but edited to provide a
more generalized level of detail more in keeping with a conceptual proposal in a Countywide
Plan.
IV. Socio-economic
Element
• The attraction and retention of targeted
businesses is proposed based on economic,
social equity and environmental criteria
• Public health is linked to land use planning
and healthy lifestyles
• Ethnic diversity is celebrated
• Emergency and neighborhood based preparedness
measures are proposed
• Education and environmental justice are
addressed
• Art, cultural and historical resources are
identified and promoted
• Parks and recreation policies and programs
are included
Initial Commission Direction
#12
a. Economy. Clarify that 89% of Marin employers
are small businesses with less than 10
employees. Encourage support of locally owned businesses but not
exempting them from transit and daycare
fees. Streamline the processing of minor projects and more clearly defining "minor".
b. Childcare. Expedite large family daycare
permitting processes.
c. Public Health. Add text regarding
second-hand smoke, tobacco use, alcohol use, the need for prenatal care and the health and
prescription needs of seniors.
d. Arts and Culture. Expand to capture Marin’s
remarkable arts and culture scene.
NEXT STEPS: The next
step is to revise the draft Countywide Plan in light of the input received from the public, the Planning Commission and
the Board of Supervisors and continue with the
environmental impact report process. In addition, several hundred letters
received by the public are being reviewed
and many of the recommendations will be incorporated into the revised Draft Plan.
Once a revised draft Plan and draft EIR are
completed, additional public hearings will be
scheduled before the Planning Commission prior to final action
by The Board of Supervisors in late 2005.
Source
http://www.co.marin.ca.us/efiles/BS/AgMn/agdocs/040928/040928-16-PL-Countywide-LTR.PDF
On Tuesday, September 28, 3:00 P.M. in the Board of Supervisors Chambers
Room #330 Public Hearing and Workshop to review initial
recommendations by the Planning Commission to the Draft Marin Countywide Plan, which are related to the project
description to be evaluated in the environmental impact report.
Staff is reviewing the letters received by the public and will incorporate
many of the recommendations. All recommendations will be responded to in a staff
report when staff returns with the revised draft of the Countywide Plan. Many
other changes suggested by the public, such as emphasizing greenhouse gas
reduction measures, will also be incorporated into the draft Plan.
Staff will return to the Planning Commission in Winter 2005 with a revised
draft of the Countywide Plan.
II. Natural Systems Element
• A Baylands Corridor based primarily on
the location of historic bay lands is proposed to
acknowledge their importance and environmental sensitivity
• Additional prominent ridgelines
are protected
• Additional wetland protection and water quality protections are
provided
• Climate protection measures are
included
• Agriculture is promoted, large estate
homes on agricultural lands are restricted, and
locally grown, organic food is encouraged
Initial Commission Direction
#3 (Biology):
a. The environmental impact report
should assess three options for the Baylands
Corridor North of San Rafael:
-
Generally siting the corridor
boundaries based on the location of
historic bay lands as determined by the San Francisco Estuary Institute, and
-
-
Using the existing railroad
tracks.
b. There was general agreement that
small, developed lots with little habitat value
should not be subject to as rigid environmental policy requirements for
bay lands, wetlands and Streamside
Conservation Areas, as larger or undeveloped lots. However, it was not determined to what extent
small, developed parcels currently
within the boundaries should be exempted.
c. The cumulative impacts of
development projects on biology, particularly wetlands and habitats should be addressed. Ensure
adequate monitoring and minimum
mitigation ratios. Clarify how setbacks apply for both Streamside
Conservation Areas and wetlands if the lot size is less than .5 acre, or between .5 –
2 acres.
Additional
Options: All small, already developed properties (on land) could be
excluded from the Baylands Corridor and
text added promoting education, technical assistance and stewardship as appropriate measures on these
parcels.
Initial Commission Direction
#4 (Agriculture):
a. Consider collection, treatment
and reuse of water along with small-scale, sustainable water development to provide for limited
agricultural diversification as long as it
doesn’t degrade environmental resources.
b. Support both organic and/or locally grown
agriculture.
c. Revise draft language limiting the
amount of residential building on agriculturally zoned properties. Residential house size
should be limited to 3,000 sq. ft. for the
primary residence and allow additional farm family residences at no
more than 3,000 sq. ft. each, or a
maximum of 6,000 sq. ft. excluding a 540 sq. ft. garage, and farm worker housing. The Commission also decided
to require a minimum separation between
dwellings to preclude joining separate structures together and making one large house.
d. Revise the draft language to clarify
that buildings directly supporting the agricultural operation on the property, including an
office, are not subject to the residential square footage limitation.
e. Structures may be clustered on more
than one location if deemed appropriate for
agricultural and/or environmental reasons.
f. Clarify that the recently adopted
development code revisions pertaining to agriculture (such as the clustering of non-agricultural
buildings) are also carried forward in the
Plan.
Additional
Options: Requiring a minimum separation between dwellings and precluding
the construction of homes over 3000 sq.
ft. in an agricultural designation could be reconsidered. As concerns related to home size and neighborhood
character also occur in community areas, a
policy and program encouraging consideration of single family home size
limitations in community plans could be
added to the Built Environmental Element.
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Conduct public hearing and workshop
2. Discuss key issues and initial Planning
Commission recommendations
3. Provide comments and general direction to assist
in CEQA review
SUMMARY: The purpose of today’s public hearing
and workshop is to discuss the draft Countywide Plan, consider several initial Planning Commission
recommendations, and provide comments and
direction related to the Plan’s desired "project description" to be evaluated in
the environmental impact
report.
DISCUSSION: The
following briefly describes several of the key issues proposed in the Draft Countywide Plan and summarizes the Planning
Commission’s initial recommendations.
I. General Content and
Format
• The draft Plan is reorganized into
3 elements - Natural Systems, Built Environment
and Socioeconomic
• Sustainability is the overarching
theme and a summary of the topic is provided in the introduction
• The draft Plan reflects the
recently adopted Marin County Strategic Plan and includes indicators, nonbinding targets, and program
implementation charts that identify
responsibilities, potential funding, priorities, and timeframes
Initial Commission Direction #1: Improve the Organization of the Plan. The Planning Commission recommended several ways to improve
the readability and organization of the Plan
including moving information critical to understanding the framework of
the Plan to the Introductory Section along
with a variety of revisions to the maps and graphics. The Commission agreed to rename the Natural Systems element
"Natural Systems and Agriculture", as well as
move the Mineral Resources section to the Built Environment
Element.
Initial Commission Direction
#2: Clarify the definition of sustainability and
improve how it links together the various
components of the Plan. The Commission continues to be concerned that the three E’s icon will not be able to
effectively portray the effect of proposed policies on sustainability or the three E’s. Therefore, the
Commission recommends that the three E’s’ icon
remain only as a logo, rather than a Venn diagram. The Commission also
requests that a paragraph be added to the
introduction to further highlight the relationship of the precautionary principle to sustainability.
Additional Options: The 3 E’s Venn diagram could be more closely correlated with
the accompanying text and revised to
improve the graphic representation of how goals in the draft Plan affect the environment, economy and social
equity
The State of the World's Population
2004:-
Hearing – San Rafael General Plan TUES, SEP 28 6:00 PM COUNCIL CHAMBER, CITY HALL 1400
Fifth Ave http://www.sanrafaelcityclerk.org/pdf/pw_trafficmitigationfeeord.pdf Discussion regarding proposed amendments to Traffic
Mitigation Fee. Housing in-lieu
fee ordinance, a
jobs/housing linkage ordinance, and several other ordinances related to zoning
districts. Traffic local AND REGIONAL–
auto traffic improvements, management and control, Education, affordable housing,
Parks.
Traffic Level of
Service may go DOWN from mid-D (35 – 45 seconds) to E (55 to 80 seconds) Irwin and Grand between Second, Street
and Mission Avenue, Andersen and West Francisco, Andersen and Bellam, Freitas at Civic
Center Dr./Redwood Highway, Merrydale at
Civic Center Dr. http://www.sanrafaelcityclerk.org/pdf/cd_pubhrg_9_28_04_circlanduse.pdf
Quarry will continue operations through the
2020
Traffic
Improvements: Fourth /Third St, eastbound 580
Ramps , Las Gallinas, Freitas, Grand, Francisco Blvd., Lincoln, Kerner .........
http://www.sanrafaelcityclerk.org/meetings.htm
Public Hearing on policies related to Loch Lomond Marina (100 units medium density residential), Canalways north of Home Depot (15 units per
acre) , and the
Cal-Pox east of Home
Depot (a
hotel) are covered in
the Sept 27th Hearing (see
staff report http://www.sanrafaelcityclerk.org/pdf/cd_pubhrggenlplan_9_27_04.pdf),
The staff reports for the 9/27/04 and 9/28/04 meetings will
be available Friday afternoon on the City Clerk's website City Clerk.
