Emergency Preparedness
In 2023, the Coalition’s Disaster Preparedness Committee continued our efforts to help our neighbors prepare for wildfires, earthquakes, floods and other emergencies. Work groups address training, supplies, evacuation, neighborhood response groups, and fire prevention.
Emergency Response Training and Education: The Committee promoted Marin Lifesaving Skills Training, organized by the County and the Marin Medical Reserve Corp, teaching CPR, “Stop-the-Bleed.” and Narcan administration. You can register for this and other classes via the MMRC Eventbrite website. The Committee also promoted the San Rafael Fire Department’s Community Emergency Response Training (CERT).
Disaster Supplies Unit: The Coalition maintains medical and rescue supplies for use in a major disaster. Funding came from more than $20,000 in residents’ donations and a County grant. They’re maintained in two caches, one of which is in a mobile emergency response trailer, which we customized and stocked this year.. We displayed the trailer at several neighborhood gatherings during the year.
Fire Prevention: The Coalition sponsored another successful Earth Day Weed Pull, with help from neighbors, volunteers from CVNL (the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership), Friends of China Camp, and others.
Emergency Response Volunteers Needed: We’ll continue to recruit committee members and emergency response volunteers in 2024. We especially need local residents with medical, rescue, and communication skills if public safety services are compromised in a major event. Individuals may contact Committee Chair John Lenser, at John@Lenser.com.
Roadway Committee
Roadway Medians: The Committee continued to hold regular meetings with City Public Works, and created a more consistent median maintenance program.
Roadway Traffic and Safety: The Committee held conversations with City and County elected officials and staff to address safety and speeding concerns along Point San Pedro Road. We worked with City Public Works staff to provide a timeline to reopen the temporary lane modification in front of Fire Station 55. We also worked with the City to identify and remove obstructive vegetation along the roadway. We are partnering with the City and County on a plan to address community concerns about speeding as well as bike lane and sidewalk safety.
Roadway Maintenance: We encouraged the County to apply a slurry seal to Point San Pedro Road to prolong the life and preserve the noise and vibration mitigating qualities of the open-graded asphalt used to repave the roadway in 2014. Application of the slurry seal is expected in 2024-25.
Wetlands Committee
The Wetlands Committee focuses on ways to protect and restore our local wetlands. The committee hosts educational events on wetlands-related topics, such as wildlife and local impacts of sea level rise.
Advocacy for the Quarry Marsh: In June, the San Rafael Rock Quarry hosted a Zoom meeting with Coalition Board and Wetlands Committee members. The Quarry’s environmental consultant, WRA, provided updates on the current MRP (Marsh Restoration Plan). Dr. Stuart Siegel presented his preliminary review of the MRP. By agreement between the Quarry and the Coalition, Dr. Siegel is doing a peer review of the plan. He presented three strands of options that could improve the integrity of the marsh ecosystem and its vitality as a wildlife habitat. When his report is completed, the Quarry Committee will meet with the Quarry team and Dr. Siegel to discuss it.
Field Trips: On April 1, Rusty Scalf led a “Birds of Our Local Wetlands” walking tour of the Loch Lomond Marina and Beach Drive Wetlands. Rusty has decades of experience teaching and leading birding trips As we walked, Rusty pointed out an impressive array of birds, offering fascinating facts about our avian neighbors. Participants saw waterfowl, shorebirds, hawks, and uplands birds. Photos are posted on our website.
Glenwood Wetlands: A Wetlands subcommittee spearheaded the formation of the Glenwood Wetlands Restoration Alliance to pursue a partnership with Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed, (STRAW) part of Point Blue, a wildlife conservation and research organization.. STRAW’s Program Director John Parodi provides guidance and support to the Alliance, which includes teachers at Glenwood School. The alliance hopes to restore the deteriorating wetlands behind the school, which are owned by the City School District.
The Coalition’s YouTube Channel has a Webinar on Wetlands Restoration, featuring Julian Wood from Point Blue. The channel, which you can link to from the Coalition’s home page, features webinars on sea level rise and local bird life, along with many other videos. In 2024, we will continue providing local field trips and educational webinars to enhance community understanding and appreciation of our local wetlands and wildlife.
Quarry Committee
The San Rafael Rock Quarry’s permit was to expire in 2024, but in late 2021, the Quarry obtained an extension of their operations and Reclamation Plan until 2044. (Reclamation is the plan to restore the land for future use once mining is discontinued.) At the conclusion of the County’s environmental review process of the Quarry’s application, the Coalition had concerns that we conveyed to Quarry leadership. As a result, the Quarry and the Coalition agreed on three specific areas for further dialogue and action which are now ongoing: Wetlands, Air Monitoring, and Roadway Maintenance. Collaboration between the Coalition and the Quarry continued in 2023.
Wetlands: At our request, the Quarry engaged an expert for a peer review of the current marsh restoration plan. The Coalition recommended Dr. Stuart Siegel, whose expertise is an excellent fit and we’re pleased they contracted with him for this purpose. As mentioned above, there was a meeting in June to discuss the status of the marsh restoration plan and Dr. Siegel’s review.
Roadway Maintenance: Pt. San Pedro Road was repaved in 2014 with special open-graded asphalt to mitigate noise and vibration. The Coalition asked the Quarry to provide materials to be used for maintenance of the roadway that preserve these benefits. Since the permit extension to 2044
would include an additional 20 years of truck traffic impacts on PSPR beyond the 2024 permit, the Coalition seeks assurances that the road will continue to be maintained in a manner that sufficiently accommodates the effects of continual heavy truck passage. The Quarry and Coalition agreed to discuss this issue further in 2024.
Air Monitoring: The Coalition is concerned that air monitoring may be needed in the future as Quarry operations increase. The Quarry is amenable to meet with us to discuss developing a plan to determine when compliant air monitoring/testing would be conducted by the County.
Loch Lomond Marina Committee
The Village at Loch Lomond Marina: Over the course of this past year, residential development was completed on the east end of the property bordering the wetlands, and the Breakwater Access Trail (BAT) was finally completed and reopened to the public along with the kayak launch ramp at the parking lot end of the BAT. The east jetty, which contains the playground, was delayed, but finally opened to the public this fall. Lastly, the property containing the old commercial businesses at the corner of Point San Pedro Road and Loch Lomond Drive was sold by Marina Village Associates to Andy Bachich who plans to submit new designs for a 10-unit condo building. As we end 2023, current activity includes: Construction by Trumark on the last residential buildings within The Strand. Trumark is removing the sales office ahead of building a residential unit there. Irrigation and planting work continues on the east jetty/playground.The Marina Oversight Committee meets bi-monthly by Zoom with the interested parties including Marina Village Associates, Safe Harbors Marina (SHM), Trumark Homes, The Strand, Andy’s Market, and the San Rafael Community Development and Public Works Departments. These groups provide status reports, review issues, and resolve concerns. Reports on these meetings are posted on Coalition’s website.
2024 Plans: The committee will continue to host these bi-monthly meetings to provide a forum for discussion and problem solving. The committee has become an important vehicle for issue resolution between The Strand’s existing homes and the ongoing construction of new ones. We’ll work with Andy Bachich and other parties to ensure that the plans for the proposed 10-unit condo are compatible with the surrounding property and that construction stays within permit limits.
Of key concern is the building planned for the vacant parcel owned by SHM between the Loch Lomond Yacht Club and the public plaza next to Andy’s Market. This parcel was originally going to house the harbormaster’s office, facilities for the marina live-aboards, and a small restaurant. Those plans have changed and SHM is considering what to do with the property. The fate of this parcel is very important to the community since it will have visual and traffic impact on the plaza which has grown in popularity as a public gathering spot. The committee will continue to urge plans for the parcel that are compatible with plaza usage.
China Camp — Planning for Sea Level Rise
The Coalition continued to support funding and a sea-level rise adaptation plan for the China Camp Road Project. The Board was pleased to learn of Supervisor Mary Sackett’s support for the project at our first meeting with her since her election. Our Board sent a letter to all five County Supervisors expressing our continued interest in the project. At our Spring Community Meeting, Supervisor Sackett said she’s held meetings with State Senator Mike McGuire and Congressman Jared Huffman to solicit their support, which will be critical to secure state and federal funding. The next step is for the County to approve a geotechnical boring study on China Camp Road which will facilitate the engineering work required for the project.