Our Annual Community Meeting on November 10, 2018 at St. Luke Church was well-attended — by over 100 people! After a brief social period with wonderful refreshments graciously provided by Sandy Mahoney of Madison Company Realtors, several speakers from Marin County and the City of San Rafael gave presentations and answered questions from the audience. We were pleased that some of our community’s most pressing concerns were heard by our elected officials. If you missed the meeting, some of the PowerPoint presentations have been provided to us so you can take a look at them by clicking on the links below.
Damon Connolly, Marin County District 1 Supervisor, gave an update on County activities related to Emergency/Fire and the SMART Train extension to Larkspur Landing. Also, he encouraged public input on the pending Bettini Transit Center relocation and encouraged residents to use the new bus service along Pt. San Pedro Road to ensure that bus service for our residents continues! Here are some of the other issues he discussed:
- China Camp Road fixes: China Camp is a vital wetland area which happens to be a tremendous recreational asset to our community—and the roadway through China Camp provides an essential means of egress should any type of emergency block Pt. San Pedro Road. A group of city and county stake holders is working on developing a plan to address fixes to address road safety, flooding and environmental issues. NEERS(National Estuarine Research Reserve System) recently received a federal grant to bringtogether end users and stakeholders to identify and evaluate sea level rise adaptation options to solve the road flooding. Members of the surrounding communities are represented, including Coalition Board member Kati Miller.
- Traffic: The 3rdlane for eastbound traffic on Hwy 580 has helped eliminate long back-ups accessing the Richmond San Rafael Bridge. The possible use of a new bicycle lane, starting Spring 2019, as a shared use with cars to reduce westbound backups during commute hours is being explored.
- Canal Dredging: Federal funds may be coming to assist in local efforts to dredge the Canal in San Rafael. With help from Senator Feinstein and Congressman Huffman, there may be funds in the 2019 budget.
Jason Weber, Marin County Fire Chief, spoke on several issues surrounding fire danger related to Marin County areas including:
- Tips for fire safety such as knowing your neighbors and our aging community;
- Emergency alerts systems and planning evacuation routes; and
- How to implement defensive space around your home and making your home fire safe, including installation of WUI-compliant roof vents.
Fire Chief Weber also stated that the county has doubled its fire crew. He said that the County would be meeting soon with PG&E to discuss approaches to reducing the risks of fire due to PG&E power lines. Finally, he pointed out that there was significant useful information to be found on the County’s website.
Jason Wong, San Rafael Department of Public Works Engineer, oversees the San Rafael Rock Quarry’s compliance with mandated conditions of operation. He pointed out that theQuarry has begun reclamation as per their permit requirements.Air testing for air-born particulate matter has been conducted but the results not yet available. The DPW will submit its Annual Report on the Quarry operations in February 2019. Complaints about quarry operations should be emailed to Jason Wong and Berenice Davidson at the DPW: DJWong@marincounty.organd BDavidson@marincounty.org (Please copy your complaint and paste it into the Message field of the Quarry Committee’s Contact Form, so we can keep track.)
Leslie Lacko, Marin County Long Range Planner, spoke on the issue of sea level rise and its impact on Marin County. She said that studies show sea levels rising faster than anticipated. She stated that there is active planning at the County level, and she stressed the importance of wetlands and marshes in combatting some of the effects of this sea level rise. Her Sea Level Rise PowerPoint presentation provided graphic evidence of this impact on our bay coastline here on the Pt. San Pedro Road peninsula.
Gary Phillips, San Rafael Mayor decided to put aside his prepared remarks on several subjects and focus on two issues; (1) City pensions and their effect on the City’s budget and (2) the plans for altering the 3rdand Hetherton intersection. He heard a great deal of input from the audience opposing the removal of a left turn lane east-bound from 3rd onto Hetherton. He said that his original position that the City should begin implementation of that plan has changed due to this input and he will seriously reconsider that plan before moving forward. The Mayor was joined by Rebecca Woodbury from the City Manager’s Office. Rebecca spoke about the City’s continuing efforts to improve teamwork across city departments and create a culture that emphasizes a solutions-oriented approach to working with our citizens.
Kevin McGowan, Assistant Public Works Director/City Engineer, also addressed the 3rdSt. and Hetherton intersection plans as well at the impact of relocating the Bettini Transit Center. Residents spoke out and clearly and articulated some very well thought out objections to the plan to eliminate the left turn lane at 3rdand Hetherton.
Quinn Gardner, San Rafael Emergency Services Coordinator, addressed the issues surrounding emergency planning, including the importance of having an evacuation and meet-up family plan. She said that there is a template on the San Rafael Office of Emergency Services (SROES) website. She mentioned upcoming meetings such as CERT introduction and training sessions that can people can register to attend. These can be found on the SROES website. Her SROES PowerPoint presentation provided insight on the SROES’s organization and efforts.
Dan Zaich, Director of Capital Improvements for the San Rafael City Schools, reviewed ongoing and upcoming construction plans at San Rafael High, San Pedro Elementary and Glenwood Elementary Schools.
Coalition Committee Reports: The Annual Community Meeting concluded with brief updates from various standing Coalition committees. The Roadway Committee reported on its activities related to the Transit Center Relocation and Medians Maintenance. The Quarry Committee spoke to the current activities related to Quarry operations and reclamation, the Loch Lomond Marina Committee briefly discussed the status of ongoing construction at that site and outstanding issues. Our Webmaster pointed out that considerable, detailed, information is available on the Coalition’s website related to the various subjects covered in the meeting.