December 2, 2024
San Rafael City Council
City Hall
1400 Fifth St
San Rafael CA 94901
Re: Northgate Development
Please acknowledge receipt of this letter.
Gentlepersons:
I am a Terra Linda homeowner and view the November acceptance by the Planning Commission for the proposed plan for 1442 Northgate housing units as pretextual; i.e., based on false reasoning. While local workforce and affordable housing advocates have articulated a need for more affordable housing in Marin, the current plan is largely for the profit of the center's owners and developers, in my view. The plan fails to balance the risks to the Terra Linda community with the potential monetary gain of the developers. The argument that the plan is adequate for affordable housing was not supported and is not a benefit. The argument for housing for local key workers (e.g., teachers and fire fighters) also fails as the cost of buying or renting such units will not differ appreciably from that for existing area housing.
Over the last four years, Merlone Geier's proposal for the Redevelopment of Northgate Mall has been improved, incorporating many community objectives: adding 138 lower-height for-sale townhomes, distributing the affordable units throughout the project, and expanding the town square with natural grass, shade trees and a larger playground. However, this proposal will increase Terra Linda's population by approximately 30%, and issues of traffic, public safety, environment/ greenhouse gases and the financial burden on San Rafael residents are not adequately addressed.
I ask you to find a bold alternative or to reject this plan, not hide behind state laws and instead orotect Terra Linda residents via your control over this project's permits and needed mitigation, specifically those discussed below.
The project's traffic study was naive and concluded that there will be no increase in traffic after 1442 housing units are built at Northgate next to single lane streets, which is not realistic. A 30- 40% rise in Terra Linda population will mean gridlock at Smith Ranch, Freitas, San Pedro and Lincoln 101 ramps. This fact reveals critical safety issues, and the recent final environmental impact report (FEIR) does not come to grips with payments and timelines for obvious and necessary mitigations. There will clearly have to be increased San Rafael taxes to accommodate street and highway construction, as well as significant state funding.
These longstanding and well documented concerns deserve more consideration and discussion. In a formal letter to the City and Council Members, Gloria Smith, attorney at law, states that "RGM and residents of Terra Linda have raised legitimate concerns about the Project's substantial increase in traffic and its attendant impacts on air quality, operational noise, evacuation routes, and emergency response times. Regarding the latter, the additional study contracted by the City (Final EIR, Attachment B), which the EIR relied upon to relieve the Developer from providing monetary assistance to the City to address emergency responses, failed to even address the impact of increased traffic on the emergency response times of the San Rafael City Fire Department." And further points out that "rather than providing accurate and timely facts and evidence, the City pointed the public to a list of court cases, burdening concerned residents with the task of hunting down legal opinions and testing those opinions for their legal sufficiency against an ever-evolving proposed project in their own town. This, when residents' direct and personal experience makes clear the City's choice of an environmental baseline defied common sense."
I request that follow-up traffic studies be required at the completion of each phase of the Northgate Project. The updated traffic studies must be based on actual traffic counts prepared by a licensed traffic engineer, approved by the City and funded by the project sponsor.
This must be included as a condition in the Project Entitlements.
So far, it seems the impacts on public services have been ignored, and no responsibility is affixed to pay for additional needed services and mitigations. Most importantly, the FEIR on its face is a clear whitewash of the obvious burden being placed on Terra Linda residents and businesses. Please reject this proposal.
I personally witnessed and experienced, the panicked evacuation of ~700,000 East Baltimore residents as fire swept the city in the evening rioting following the Martin King assassination in 1968. The street/highway infrastructure there was far superior to that in San Rafael and enabled exit in all directions, yet was woefully inadequate. In Terra Linda we have a blind canyon, that in a time of wildfire, leaves only a single direction for evacuation and emergency vehicles and is already at a standstill in rush hour.
Sincerely,
Deny pack
Henry N Hulter MD
San Rafael CA 94903