On Monday October 17, 2016, the Coalition’s Marina Committee met with the S.R. Community Development Department (CDD) and S.R. Dept. of Public Works (DPW) for our regular monthly review of the developments at The Village at Loch Lomond Marina (aka “The Strand”). The Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) also participated by conference call. The public is encouraged to communicate with the Marina Committee using the Contact the Marina Committee form to raise any issues or concerns so that they may be brought to the City’s attention.
The following items were discussed:
City of San Rafael Letter: The CDD and DPW issued a joint letter to the developer regarding several items that the City has been requesting the developer to address and fix for some time with no results. This letter stated that until a majority of those items are resolved (listed in the letter), the City would not be issuing any further Certificates of Occupancy (COs) after October 28, 2016.
BCDC Order to MVA: Maggie Weber of BCDC discussed the contents of the BCDC Stipulated Cease and Desist and Civil Penalty Order (CDD 2016.04) issued to the developer (Marina Village Associates, Inc. aka MVA) after negotiations with them were completed. It contains 24 violations of BCDC regulations and permits and several conditions required by MVA to rectify them. On Thursday October 20, BCDC’s Enforcement Committee will be holding a public hearing on that order. The City representatives also stated they would be issuing a letter to BCDC with their input on that order. [NOTE: The Marina Committee co-chairs will be attending that hearing and will report in a separate post.]
Fuel Dock: A question has been raised as to whether BCDC needs to approve the re-opening of the fuel dock. Such approval is not explicit in their original permits for this construction. BCDC states that they likely do need to approve it but did not think that would be a problem. However, this does present a “hitch” in the plans for that re-opening that needs to be addressed by BCDC, the City and the developer.
Yacht Club: Originally, the yacht club building was to be extended northward to include a restaurant and other facilities. The developer has proposed an amendment to the permits to separate these two entities into separate buildings with a narrow space between them. The City has agreed to this modification but requires the yacht club building to get a “face lift” to match the adjacent buildings in materials and color within two years of this agreement or before the occupancy of the final Strand residences, whichever comes first. This second building would house not only the restaurant, but also the Harbormaster’s Office and the bathroom amenities for the liveaboards. The BCDC has questioned whether they need to approve the move of the Harbormaster’s Office from its original location in the rear of the market building which was outside BCDC jurisdiction.
Eastern Connection Between Parking and Breakwater: The frequent flooding of this area is addressed in the BCDC “Cease and Desist” order. It requires the developer to hire a specialist to conduct a study of the frequency and severity of such flooding and propose a plan to address it.
Public Access to Central Spit Restroom Facilities: The playground is now open to the public but the bathrooms remain locked and inaccessible. This item is also included in the BCDC “Cease and Desist” order.
Public Access Hours: There continues to be a disagreement between the City and BCDC regarding hours of operation in the public areas. BCDC requires all public areas in its jurisdiction to be open 24/7 unless there is a strong and overriding reason to imposed limited hours. City regulations call for public parks within City limits to be open only dawn-to-dusk. There is an ongoing discussion between The City and BCDC to work out a resolution of these conflicting regulations.
Lochinvar Road Repaving: The intersection at Bonnie Banks will be fully repaved, too, when the curbs at all four corners have been modified with handicap ramps. Work has already begun on the handicap ramps.