1 To San Rafael City Council
Comments : December 16 Council Meeting
Regarding Northgate Town Square
TOPIC: NORTHGATE MALL REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING SERVICES.
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE THIRD AMENDMENT TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. FOR ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSULTING SERVICES FOR THE NORTHGATE MALLREDEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN AN AMOUNT OF $105,000, FOR A TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT OF $615,851.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a third amendment to the professional services agreement with LSA Associates, Inc. for additional environmental consulting services associated with the Northgate Mall Redevelopment Project, in the amount not to exceed $105,000, for a total not to exceed contract amount of $615,851 From: Jonathan Freudman *
I respectfully suggest
1. This measure needs to be more specific regarding the consulting tasks at hand. a. There needs be modeling of the potential traffic impact of several scenarios including number of vehicles owned per residence compared with available parking and potential private vehicle trips: For commuting outside of Terra Linda and daily life- within Terra Linda and to Central San Rafael. Use of public transit and bicycles should be modeled as well. b. And if certain scenarios suggest serious problems at key intersections and routes, the likelihood of these discussed .
c. The effort should include Identification of potential mitigation strategies to offset the serious problems.
2. LSA Associates previously concluded that Northgate Town Square would have no net impact on traffic in Terra Linda . This raises the question of the ability of LSA to conduct an objective and helpful analysis as they have already reached a conclusion. Is LSA appropriate for this task? Is modeling something they do?
3. There should be Terra Linda community involvement during the conduct of the consultation . This might entail two community volunteer representatives picked by the Director Community Development & Economic Development 2 Department to provide input to the consultants as they plan, conduct and write up their analysis.
Rationale Parking and traffic were not permitted to be determinants in the Northgate Town Square approval process. However, these have the potential to have significant impact on the community given the size of the project and its unique location at the entrance of the Terra Linda Valley. Now that the project has been approved, the consulting activity being proposed has the potential to address this gap and identify potential downstream problems and possible solutions.
More is at stake than inconvenience during rush hours. As one Planning Commissioner , who voted no for approval stated “ I like this project…The traffic. That is a huge problem. I feel like it’s a safety issue that we need to deal with.” Another Commissioner tried to re-assure the community stating that having worked on projects like these, the consequences of them seldom turn out to be as bad as they appear.” So who is correct? We don’t know. The City needs information to plan accordingly especially identification of specific potential problems and options to reduce the likelihood of adverse consequences downstream.
An approach There are things we know today. Where the roads are and the current traffic patterns and bottlenecks. These are apparent to those who travel within the community and are being monitored daily on Google Maps . Additional quantification can be performed if needed.
We also know how may parking spots per residence have been allotted in the approved project. And we know the amount of current street parking available in the immediate neighborhood and beyond these which key roads will receive Northgate resident spillover parking should supplies be exceeded. I know that stipulation of number of parking spots was not allowed for the approval process. However, now that the project is approved modeling potential parking impacts is reasonable and necessary for the City to understand.
We don’t know the mix of future residents regarding vehicle ownership, commuting preferences and other realities. We may see older residents who are retired who will do well with 0-1 vehicles. And people working from home. And a large group of people happy to commute on buses and SmartTrain. However, there may also be preponderance of two wage earner families with commutes not possible by way of the north -south public transit corridor. And for many daily life activities travel within or out of Terra Linda will not be possible by foot, bike, or public transit. Especially for older 3 folks and families with small children. Even with the amenities of Northgate Town Square , and the efforts of Golden Gate Transit, Terra Linda is an dependent island in the suburbs and not a complete urban environment.
Given the knowns and unknowns, this consulting activity has the potential to reassure the community and identify potential problems and solutions. Parking needs to be part of the analysis. Well conducted, objective modeling can help provide this important information. This can benefit the City of San Rafael, current residents of Terra Linda , future residents of Northgate Town Center and Melone Geier. • Jonathan Freudman. San Rafael CA 94901
I am a private citizen of San Rafael with 40+ years observing traffic in and around Terra Linda. I was a Kaiser San Rafael physician for almost 20 years , my parents lived their last 25 years in Terra Linda, and both my adult children have homes in Terra Linda.