From: Tom Monahan <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, June 21, 2024 2:33 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Cc: Micah Hinkle <[email protected]>; Margaret Kavanaugh-Lynch <[email protected]>
Subject: Design Review Board Consolidation
Dear Mayor Kate and Council Members,
This email is to express our support for the consolidation of the Design Review Board’s responsibilities into the Planning Commission.
Our Company has been an investor and developer in San Rafael for almost 40 years.
We have been the Applicant/ Sponsor of more than a dozen various projects in San Rafael over the years.
Some of our notable projects include Marin Bay Park, 1101 Fifth Avenue, AC Marriott Hotel, Kaiser Medical center at Third and A Street, Second and B Street Apartments, Lincoln and Mission Senior Housing (Aegis), 33 North Apartments, and 1515 Fourth Street.
Accordingly, we have had considerable experience with the DRB and Planning Commission in order to obtain approvals for both residential and commercial projects.
Consolidating the the DRB will make for a more efficient planning process and will optimize Staff time when considering projects in our Community.
Streamlining the approval process will help expedite the creation of much needed housing and encourage further investment in San Rafael.
The Planning Commission will still have ample opportunity to evaluate project proposals and will retain the ability to make positive suggestions to protect the Community’s interests.
Eliminating the redundant DRB meetings and sometimes arbitrary and subjective opinions of project design features, will bring more predictability to the process while at the same time insuring that excellent design quality and project benefits are maintained.
We encourage the Council to adopt Staff’s recommendations to consolidate the Design Review Board’s responsibilities into the Planning Commission.
Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,
Tom Monahan
President
Monahan Pacific Corporation
Tom Monahan | Monahan Pacific Corporation
1101 Fifth Avenue, Suite #300 | San Rafael, CA 94901
(415) 456-0600 | Fax (415) 456-2414 |
[email protected]