From: Ms Angela Gott
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2025 12:58 PM
To: End Homelessness <[email protected]> Subject: On your website for 350 Merrydale Dr. the email icon and button on the left is cut off and does not work when clicked on so please fix this so you can get emails
Hello Daniel Cooperman, Community Services Division Director City of San Rafael November 14, 2025
I got an email from City of San Rafael today November 14, 20255 all about the 350 Merrydale Rd interim project and on the left side of your website, among other options is the option to email you.
The email link next to the envelope icon does NOT work when you try to click on it. The email link is cut off-- I did a copy/paste of what was there and the rest of it got filled in but if I had not known how to copy/paste I would not have been able to do this. I just wanted to bring this glitch to your attention so it can be fixed by IT Dept.
I signed up to get more emails and stay up to date on this 350 Merrydale Dr. project and I wrote and expressed my full support for this 350 Merrydale Road project also. I am so sorry to see so much NIMBY attitude so I offer this below that maybe some of the opposition can read and begin to understand. They are afraid of what they do not know.
I am a senior age and moved to CA in 1986 and to Marin County in 1989. I spent most of the years in Terra Linda and rented a room and worked at Northgate Mall for many years. I opened a PO Box at the PO where Scotty's Market in Terra Linda is in 1995 and still go there weekly to fetch my mail and get food from Scotty's.
I post online on Nextdoor often mostly pertaining to warning about scams, about Medicare and Medicare Advantage information for seniors, about politics local, state, national, and do what I can to inform ND readers with useful information to Marin County residents. I am Angela Gott Lincoln Hill neighborhood. To view my posts you can put my name into the search box on Nextdoor.com and my bio will come up and then you can scroll past /scroll down and view my posts. I post often so there are a lot of posts.
My primary care physician is One Medical in Terra Linda. My Walgreens is the one in Terra Linda. But due to the high cost of rent and having to get on Medicare (it is expensive) in 2016 at age 65, I had to move out of San Rafael the apartment I moved into in 2005. My BMR apartment off Lincoln Ave-- the landlords legally raised the rent 10% annually until I could no longer afford it and then took away the heat included (radiant heat under the floor).
I was driving a 34 year old car on its last legs and could not afford to stay housed in San Rafael AND get on Medicare-- even a Medicare Advantage plan which was cheaper than Original Medicare. I had been on Expanded Medicaid/ Med-Cal under the ACA before turning 65 but at 65 you are forced onto Medicare. Under the ACA the IRS does not regard 401K plans, retirement savings, IRA savings accounts as an asset. But at 65 Medi=Cal reverted to State of CA and what constitutes an asset and all you are allowed to have is $2,000. So I lost my Medi-Cal status upon turning age 65 I was still on all the other programs-- Lifeline for the phone, CARE for PG&E, Cal-Fresh (SNAP) and I was on the waitlist for senior subsidized housing with MHA.
I was a FT bookseller with benefits at Borders Books & Music in San Rafael from 2003 to 2011 when Borders Books went bankrupt as I turned 60 in the Great Recession. It was 3 years before I managed to find steady work again due to age discrimination and even then it was just part-time $12/hour and no benefits. But it did bring stability-- but just not enough to live on.
So I know how and why women of my generation, the Boomers-- I was born in 1951--fall into homelessness and I really and truly believe it is not their fault. Places like Rotary Manner have minimum income streams and this is based on men's wages, not the women's. So places would not put women on the waitlist as their incomes were below the minimum income streams.
Martinelli House on Lincoln Ave. is another one that did this to women.
In those days on Medicare, the Medicare Advantage Plans charged a Part C Premium so I had to cover Part B Outpatient and Part C premium too. Part C on SCAN Medicare Advantage and later United Healthcare Medicare Advantage in those years was $80 a month. Part B Outpatient Premium in 2016 was $ 121.80 a month. Medicare / CMS sets this and in 2026-- 10 years later it will be $206.50 a month. People on Medi-Cal and on SSI do not pay this but people with retirement savings programs have to. Since I was waiting to age 70 to start SSA benefits I had to pay the Part B Premium out of pocket as well as the Part C Premium.
At age 38 is when I began saving and doing annual IRAs to have something to augment Social Security. No matter how poor I was, I manged to do the $2,000 a year IRA and then that made me eligible for Saver's Credit too. I also gave myself 3 dependents-- The IRS leaves you alone as long as you owe under $1000. So I had the benefit of larger paychecks and this helped me set aside the $2000 a year for my IRA. Once at Borders Books, I saved 20% of each paycheck and put it into the 401K and still did IRAs and Saver's Credit on the side. I was earning about $20,000 a year is all. I never got refunds but I paid myself first and did not owe much in taxes. Once CA started the CA EITC I always qualified for that too. At age 65 the IRS takes away the Federal EITC. I get my taxes done free with Marin Tax Aide and I never owe anything in taxes.
For a brief time period State of CA lifted the $2,000 ceiling for assets to $130,000 and then took it away altogether. So for a brief period I likely could have gotten on Medi-Cal but One Medical does not accept people on Medi-Cal.
I got on One Medical in 2020 in Terra Linda as it dovetails nicely with my Alignment Medicare Advantage Plan (Orange, CA) I got on as of January 2020 also. So that is why, when the Assets ceiling was lifted/ ended I did not get on Medi-Cal. The trade off, I would have lost my PCP and Marin County has a huge shortage of PCPs. (primary care physicians) Medicare Advantage Plans require having a PCP as they are the gatekeeper to getting referrals to see specialists. So being on One Medical AND being on Alignment Healthplan is why I have been able to maintain my health and well being.
Here is the latest information re: the State of CA assets rule for Medi-Cal eligibility:
The asset ceiling is not returning to $2,000. Starting January 1, 2026, California is reinstating asset limits for certain Medi-Cal programs, but the new limit is $130,000 for an individual, plus $65,000 for each additional family member, according to the DHCS and CANHR. This is significantly higher than the old $2,000 limit and is the same limit that was in place in 2022, before the asset test was eliminated entirely in 2024.
Marin County follows the statewide Medi-Cal rules.
Key changes for 2026
• Individual asset limit: $130,000
• Additional family member: Add $65,000 for each extra person, up to a maximum of 10 people
• Return of the asset test: The asset test is returning for non-MAGI (Modified Adjusted Gross Income) Medi-Cal programs, including those for older adults and people with disabilities, for the first time since January 1, 2024. • Countable assets: Some assets will still not count, such as one home, one vehicle, and certain retirement accounts.
Important considerations
• Marin County: Marin County follows the statewide Medi-Cal asset rules, so the new statewide limits apply to residents.
• Spend down: If you have assets above the limit, you may have to "spend down" the excess before becoming eligible for Medi-Cal.
I do not know if you have heard but CA DHCS has cut a deal with Marin County HHS and now dual eligibles will be strongly encouraged to get on Kaiser starting in 2026. The seniors on SSA with SSI and SSDI and thus get their Medi-Cal FROM SSA are treated differently as SSA contracted with Partnership in Health as the HMO for THEIR Medicare & Medi=Cal. The problem is -- Partnership in Health begged off for a year -- 2026 to develop a Medicare Advantage plan for their seniors on Medi-Cal so it will not start until January 2027.
Every dual eligible who is on a different Medicare Advantage Plan who got on one before 2026 are grandfathered and can remain on the dual eligible plan they have been on indefinitely so it is those turning 65 now who are being steered onto Kaiser. Kaiser does palliative medicine. Seniors who have access to UCSF both in Marin and in San Francisco have the benefit of access to oncologists who fight for you.
I do not know if you are aware of this but Meritage Medical Network which has been the Network for seniors on United Healthcare, on Humana, on Western Health and on Alignment Healthplan got a CA DHCS cease and desist order due to fiscal mismanagement and subsequent bankruptcy and all the seniors were put into Brown & Toland as the new network to stay on-- the HMO that approves all the procedures and access to specialists as of 9/ 1/ 2025.
So all the seniors who are used to going to Marin Health UCSF and UCSF doctors and UCSF General in San Francisco have been left at the mercy of Brown & Toland. I managed to get Alignment Healthplan in Orange CA to get Marin Community Clinic contracted with Brown & Toland as most dual eligible seniors go to Marin Community Clinic's 6 locations. But those going to Pt. Reyes Coastal Alliance and to Marin City Medical Center-- I am not certain they have contracted with Brown & Toland yet.
When you are on / in a Medicare Advantage Plan you have to stay IN NETWORK so the new network as of September 1, 2025 we all have to stay in for the rest of 2025 and continuing into 2026 is Brown & Toland.
This has affected the dual eligibles and also those of us not on a Medicare Advantage plan with Medi-Cal -- people like myself who have Retirement Savings Plans considered an Asset by the state of CA. So regardless of our income streams and the Medicare Advantage plans we are on, we all have to STAY in NETWORK which is Brown & Toland. There are NO 5 star plans (set by Medicare/CMS) in Marin County for 2026 and only two Insurance Companies' plans which are 4 star plans-- Alignment Healthplan and Kaiser.
So back to 2016 when I turned 65 and had to get on Medicare and could not afford to stay housed in San Rafael. I was subjected to serious age discrimination. I had never experienced this before and it was a real wake up call. I went to see one house in San Rafael Meadows and the woman - a senior -- called me an orphan and said "who should I contact when I find you dead?" So Boomer aged seniors can't find "rent a room" situations due to age bias. No one wants to rent to them. They will rent to a college student or 20 something who will just be there a few years but they do not want an aging senior they then have to get rid of when they are 80 ! ! ! So they just do not rent to them ! !!
I had not anticipated this kind of age discriminations in renting prior to age 65.
I was really starting to panic. I lucked into a rent a room in the Bon Air Apartments off S. Eliseo in June 2016 and lived there and at the time my PCP - - Marin Internal Medicine --was right down the street so it was a great location and I got access to the Bon Air Apartments pool too which was wonderful !
I would have continued living there longer despite the problems with their total lack of ADA physical modifications---I use a rolling walker to get around--I had to carry it on my back (bungee cord) and pull myself up to ground level from the basement carport to ground level and then up another flight of stairs to get to the 2nd floor apartment every night after work.
In May 2017 MHA called me and offered me access to Kruger Pines senior/disabled housing in Strawberry Mill Valley and that is where I moved to June 2017 and will live out the rest of my life. I waited to age or 70 to start taking my SSA benefits. But due to pay discrimination even waiting to age 70, my SSA benefit was just $1,254/ month in 2021. The Part B Premium comes off the top so that is what I had left. It is now $1,527 a month with annual COLA added and that is after working 53 years ! ! ! So but for getting into MHA subsidized senior housing I would be homeless in Marin.
This is why I am writing to you -- This is why women seniors especially, wind up homeless in old age.
Now I do have my "plan B" to rely on, my retirement savings but most women living paycheck to paycheck did not do what I did-- I always paid myself first-- and set aside IRA savings and participated in the Borders Retirement 401K plan too. I always did Saver's Credit. So now I have to take RMDs and this increased my income stream. I have my SSA benefit, my little part-time 20 hour a month job in self-storage management (Larkspur Storage) and my RMDs so I get a little over $25,000 a year income stream to live on. I am on all the social welfare programs except Medi-Cal. But I would be homeless. but for my sheer good luck to have gotten into MHA senior/ disabled housing when I did.
Please share this with everyone interested in homeless seniors issues as this story of mine shows step by step how the deck is stacked against boomer age seniors, and especially against boomer age women seniors to wind up homeless in old age.
Many women divorced before 10 years and thus can't claim spousal support or survivors widows benefits off a deceased former spouse. Many women began taking Social Security at age 62 and now with the full retirement age of 67 (those born 1960 and later) will lose 30% penalty for life for not waiting to age
67. So all this works to result in women becoming homeless in old age. Marin County is NOT building housing for this demographic. Please educate the general public how and why 350 Merrydale Dr. is so critical to housing women seniors. Thank you.
Angela Gott -- a very lucky senior woman in Marin Housing Authority Interim Shelter Site at 350 Merrydale Road - San Rafael Interim Shelter Site at 350 Merrydale Road - San Rafael The City of San Rafael and the County of Marin are partnering on two projects at 350 Merrydale Road – providing ...
-----Original Message-----
From: Barbara Strong
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2025 1:23 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment: Support for 350 Merrydale Rd
Dear City Council members,
I am writing in support of the proposed project at 350 Merrydale, to provide interim shelter for 65 unhoused individuals and subsequently 80 units of affordable housing.
This project brings many benefits to our community.
This dual-phase approach offers immediate assistance to vulnerable individuals, and also contributes long-term affordable housing stock. It quickly brings more interim shelter online. We have too many unsheltered homeless in Marin and this will provide a short-term solution for many of them, and will ultimately contribute to Marin County’s affordable housing stock via a multi-year process to develop affordable housing development while using the land productively in the interim.
This is a great location for affordable housing.
The site is less than a half-mile from the SMART Marin Civic Center Station, providing direct rail access to jobs and services throughout Marin and Sonoma Counties. It’s also served by Marin Transit bus routes along Redwood Highway, giving residents and shelter participants reliable connections without needing a car.
The location is near county offices, health and social services, and nonprofits that already work with unhoused and low-income residents. This makes it easier for program staff to coordinate care, and for residents to access case management, employment programs, and healthcare.
Redwood Highway is already a mixed-use area with multifamily housing, light commercial uses, and community services. Adding this project fits with the existing neighborhood fabric and helps activate an underused property rather than extending development into new areas.
This project makes efficient use of an underutilized site. The site has been vacant for about five years.
Using this parcel for affordable housing prevents blight, supports neighborhood vitality, and leverages existing infrastructure rather than expanding outward.
Sincerely,
Barbara Strong
stronger together
women’s rights are human rights
From: Cherry Levin
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2025 12:03 PM
To: End Homelessness <[email protected]>; Mayor Kate <[email protected]>
Subject: 350 Merrydale
It is absolutely astonishing to me that, even in the face of vociferous public resistance, you would persist in your - I don't even know how to describe it - controversial is too mild a term = plan to create tiny homes in the middle of an established residential neighborhood. This is not going to work and you should stop in your tracks and listen to the people whose lives will be affected by your ill conceived plan. This includes the homeless who will be unwelcome and policed in the neighborhood and the residents who are resisting this legally. If you persist, I predict a steady rumpus of wild things. Maybe we have seen similar conflict around behaviors at the Anderson Camp? Obviously, you have no sense of fiscal responsibility or listening skills as you have entirely ignored and planned behind closed doors for something that will disrupt the lives of your constituents and is unwanted in a family community. I do believe that you have violated the Brown Act and will be held accountable. Listen to what the residents are saying about this. They will sue you. They want this stopped. I do also but not for the same reasons as they do. I want it stopped because it is in the WRONG PLACE. The successful tiny home communities that are being built are not withn city limits. (San Diego, Texas) Tell Mr.
Cooperman to do some research if he knows how. If not, I will be pleased to teach him.
Quick recap: 2.2 mill for Mahon Creek. My dogs sleep in nicer surroundings than these. Chain link that look like cages no electricity no running water but there sure is a 24 hour norcan tent. 657 for FS Global - a bunch of kids who pirated the name of a famous Harvard epidemiologist who I seriously doubt knows any of these kids. Did you vett these folks? Or are you just content to hand out money? And rather large sums. I've been deliberating about calling the fellow on Channel 7 to share this tidbit. 32 for Casa Canal. for 80 Now 7.1 1.6 and 2 mill for the kids. Are you out of your minds? I think so, I think you are swept off on the tidal wave of what you think is social justice but is really enabling drug addiction and allowing the untreated mentally ill to wander our street. If you think this is compassion, let me take you to the ER or to visit my friends who lost their child due to Fentynal in Albert's Park.
You know the drugs are there yet you do NOTHING to stop it when you can. I think that you have the mistaken idea that San Rafael will be the shining star of homeless housing when you are literally creating a lose-lose situation. Danile Lurie just opened - saw it today and yes, I follow all of this - a treatment center in the Tenderloin. In his new universe, you get arrested for drugs so you have a choice - this treatment center or jail. How insightful to get to the root of the problem and do something to fix it rather than to create plywood boxes for the homeless to live in and still have availability for drugs. This could be part of the reason that London Breed was replaced. You can be replaced also - consider that when you proceed with this project. The recall in Fairfax failed but not by much and part of the substance surrounded the inability of the Mayor and City Council to control Stephanie Koontz.
There are groups doing BETTER WORK for the homeless than allowing them to continue with the anti-social behavior that we are seeing. I read the police reports, I drive down Anderson, I talk to the parents whose children attend Davidson Middle School. I have encounters with the homeless in my area. I ask questions about the homeless that come into the hospitals to the doctors and nurses who treat them. I read books, journal articles and listen to YouTube videos - interviews with the homeless, scholarly seminars i.e. Juliu Streeter from Stanford's Economic Policy Institute I talk to the people who work in the BioMarin Building overlooking Mahon Creek and know what they see on a daily basis. I talk to downtown merchants and business leaders along with civic minded people in the community and they all agree - what you are doing is a failure yet you pat yourselves on the back about what a wonderful job you are doing while spending staggering amounts of money that is completely ineffective.
I know that you were sued numerous times by Robbie and Jason. I'm sorry that they did that but I saw your interactions at the council meeting. Sorry but I feel that you fell for the appeal of a child sent to manipulate. There are many many agencies in Marin to help homeless women and children that are not living in encampments where drugs are present. How do I know this - because I work in the community to fundraise and help underserved women and children. I sued you over the Ordinances and won - why? Because you failed - yes failure seems to be appropriate here in terms of what happened in the Palisades - to consider the threat of fire in your moments of the complete absence of common sense.
I am starting to think that your motives for our town are seriously divergent from many of the people who live here. Often, people respond by saying - follow the money. We are watching the ngo theft of millions of homeless housing dollars in SoCal. And there is change on the horizon. Read the news - npr new policies suggest "The overhaul shifts funds to transitional housing requiring work and addiction treatment." Lease the old honor farm from the Vierra family. The land is held in a land trust so it cannot be sold. Next door is - remarkably handy - the Helen Vine Detox/treatment center. The property is fenced, it has electricity, it has plumbing - there are few neighbors.
The potential residents could have their dogs - this is really important for homeless women who are raped frequently - you could take services out to them and not plunk them down in the middle of a city where other people are trying to live and work.
I take no pleasure in conflict. But I also take no pleasure in watching a town that I live in be compromised by city officials who are out of touch with reality. Seems to be quite prevalent in this state. Yet there are attempts being made to change it. You might want to listen.
Cherry /
-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Shinneman
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2025 11:28 AM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]>; Marin Board of Supervisors <[email protected]>
Subject: In support of the Interim Shelter at 350 Merrydale for people currently experiencing homelessness in San Rafael
We know that providing housing first works! The Interim Shelter at 350 Merrydale for people currently experiencing homelessness in San Rafael does just that. I ask you to support this important project as needed to teach the greater community that unhoused people are not a danger or detraction for any part of Marin.
Best Regards,
Frank Shinneman
Mill Valley
-----Original Message-----
From: Janet Turner
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2025 3:19 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment: Support for 350 Merrydale Rd
Dear City Council members,
I am writing in support of the proposed project at 350 Merrydale, to provide interim shelter for 65 unhoused individuals and subsequently 80 units of affordable housing.
This project brings many benefits to our community.
This dual-phase approach offers immediate assistance to vulnerable individuals, and also contributes long-term affordable housing stock. It quickly brings more interim shelter online. We have too many unsheltered homeless in Marin and this will provide a short-term solution for many of them, and will ultimately contribute to Marin County’s affordable housing stock via a multi-year process to develop affordable housing development while using the land productively in the interim.
This is a great location for affordable housing.
The site is less than a half-mile from the SMART Marin Civic Center Station, providing direct rail access to jobs and services throughout Marin and Sonoma Counties. It’s also served by Marin Transit bus routes along Redwood Highway, giving residents and shelter participants reliable connections without needing a car.
The location is near county offices, health and social services, and nonprofits that already work with unhoused and low-income residents. This makes it easier for program staff to coordinate care, and for residents to access case management, employment programs, and healthcare.
Redwood Highway is already a mixed-use area with multifamily housing, light commercial uses, and community services. Adding this project fits with the existing neighborhood fabric and helps activate an underused property rather than extending development into new areas.
This project makes efficient use of an underutilized site. The site has been vacant for about five years.
Using this parcel for affordable housing prevents blight, supports neighborhood vitality, and leverages existing infrastructure rather than expanding outward.
Sincerely,
Janet Turner
Sent from my iPhone
From: marci friedman
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2025 2:14 PM
To: Mayor Kate <[email protected]>; Maika Llorens Gulati <[email protected]>; Eli Hill <[email protected]>; Maribeth Bushey <[email protected]>; Rachel Kertz <[email protected]>; Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Cc: [email protected]; Cameron Macdonald <[email protected]>; [email protected] Subject: RE: 350 Merrydale – For Immediate Posting and Inclusion on the City Council Agenda Dear City Council,
I am writing to express strong dissatisfaction with your representation in regards to this proposed homeless site at 350 Merrydale. You have operated in secret, without consideration of the neighboring communities. You have eroded my trust with your lack of communication and community engagement.
Specifically:
1. Lack of timely outreach / community notification
Many residents were first informed of this decision through a press announcement and the most direct businesses were not informed! This is unacceptable.
2. Secrecy and closed-session negotiations
Real‐estate negotiations were kept private during site selection and acquisition. No detailed public disclosure of terms, risk assessment, or neighborhood impact study was provided!
3. Inadequate neighborhood review and impact mitigation The project site is adjacent to family homes, childcare facilities, elderly housing, and businesses. Where is the information re:
o Data on current and comparable call-for-service/crime patterns at similar facilities. o A clear mitigation plan for traffic, parking, policing, sanitation, and day-school safety. o A definitive “sunset” enforceable clause for the interim usage.
4. Risk of delayed permanent housing and long-term costs The proposal uses an $8 million County allocation for land acquisition and start-up costs that will be drawn from public funds. Yet the transition to the permanent 80-unit affordable housing project is only “in the early stages” and lacks a developer, financing, or schedule.
5. Precedent of delayed or failed outcomes elsewhere
Evidence from other jurisdictions shows similar programs have failed from cost overruns and resident transition rates- costs of similar programs in Alameda and Oakland cost taxpayers into the hundreds of millions! And the success rate of these programs are outlined at 27% with 50% of this subset returning to homelessness- that is not success! You are NOT SOLVING THE PROBLEM, YOU ARE MOVING IT!
Please postpone any vote on funding or approval of this project until a full community review process is completed
Sincerely,
Marci Friedman
From: FI Flooring & Design <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2025 9:52 AM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Cc: Mayor Kate <[email protected]>; Maribeth Bushey <[email protected]>; Eli Hill <[email protected]>; Rachel Kertz <[email protected]>; Maika Llorens Gulati <[email protected]> Subject: 350 Merrydale Project - November 17 Public Hearing Comments - PLEASE POST IN THE PUBLIC RECORD
Importance: High
PLEASE POST IN THE PUBLIC RECORD
Dear Mayor Colin and Members of the San Rafael City Council, With all due respect to all of you, we are asking you to pause all action on the proposed tiny-homes project at 350 Merrydale Road. The issue is not homelessness or housing — it is the failure of a transparent and inclusive public process to the neighborhood, to the businesses and to the community in general.
Residents and many of the business owners learned of this project only after an Oct. 15 press event, even though a “tentative agreement” had been reached in closed session weeks earlier with no public reporting. Announcing the project before the purchase agreement is even scheduled for council consideration makes it appear that the major decisions were made first and the public was informed only afterward which calls for a lack of transparency and to avoid answering questions that the affected community might have.
Inviting community feedback after a public rollout is not meaningful engagement.
Neighborhoods most affected were never notified, consulted, or included in early discussions on site selection, planning or alternatives. Even more, during the event at the JCC, many of the supporters of your project didn’t even know how to answer our questions and were just sending us to others who didn’t have the answers either. This approach undermines trust and makes the project feel imposed rather than collaboratively developed.
To restore confidence, the city should:
• Pause the project
• Release a clear timeline of decisions and approvals
• Hold open, well-publicized meetings before any further commitments are made.
San Rafael can address homelessness compassionately while still upholding open government. But that requires a reset. The community deserves transparency, honesty, and a real role in shaping decisions of this scale.
Sincerely,
Monica & Hikmet Ozbek
FI Flooring & Design, Owners
Lic. 925794
(415)289-0465 / Cell (925)759-9302
3767 Redwood Hwy
San Rafael, CA 94903
http://www.fiflooring.com
Check us out on Yelp
Follow us on Instagram / Facebook / LinkedIn
-----Original Message-----
From: Miguel Segura
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2025 2:25 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment: Support for 350 Merrydale Rd
Dear City Council members,
I am writing in support of the proposed project at 350 Merrydale, to provide interim shelter for 65 unhoused individuals and subsequently 80 units of affordable housing.
This project brings many benefits to our community.
This dual-phase approach offers immediate assistance to vulnerable individuals, and also contributes long-term affordable housing stock. It quickly brings more interim shelter online. We have too many unsheltered homeless in Marin and this will provide a short-term solution for many of them, and will ultimately contribute to Marin County’s affordable housing stock via a multi-year process to develop affordable housing development while using the land productively in the interim.
This is a great location for affordable housing.
The site is less than a half-mile from the SMART Marin Civic Center Station, providing direct rail access to jobs and services throughout Marin and Sonoma Counties. It’s also served by Marin Transit bus routes along Redwood Highway, giving residents and shelter participants reliable connections without needing a car.
The location is near county offices, health and social services, and nonprofits that already work with unhoused and low-income residents. This makes it easier for program staff to coordinate care, and for residents to access case management, employment programs, and healthcare.
Redwood Highway is already a mixed-use area with multifamily housing, light commercial uses, and community services. Adding this project fits with the existing neighborhood fabric and helps activate an underused property rather than extending development into new areas.
This project makes efficient use of an underutilized site. The site has been vacant for about five years.
Using this parcel for affordable housing prevents blight, supports neighborhood vitality, and leverages existing infrastructure rather than expanding outward.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
-----Original Message-----
From: Patti Breitman
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2025 1:27 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: As holidays approach, Support for 350 Merrydale Rd Dear City Council members,
As the holidays approach, and we are urged to practice goodwill toward others, this is a perfect time to make a difference in the lives of people have who have so much less than we do.
Please support the proposed project at 350 Merrydale, to provide interim shelter for 65 unhoused individuals and subsequently 80 units of affordable housing.
This project brings many benefits to our community.
This dual-phase approach offers immediate assistance to vulnerable individuals, and also contributes long-term affordable housing stock. It quickly brings more interim shelter online. We have too many unsheltered homeless in Marin and this will provide a short-term solution for many of them, and will ultimately contribute to Marin County’s affordable housing stock via a multi-year process to develop affordable housing development while using the land productively in the interim.
This is a great location for affordable housing.
The site is less than a half-mile from the SMART Marin Civic Center Station, providing direct rail access to jobs and services throughout Marin and Sonoma Counties. It’s also served by Marin Transit bus routes along Redwood Highway, giving residents and shelter participants reliable connections without needing a car.
The location is near county offices, health and social services, and nonprofits that already work with unhoused and low-income residents. This makes it easier for program staff to coordinate care, and for residents to access case management, employment programs, and healthcare.
Redwood Highway is already a mixed-use area with multifamily housing, light commercial uses, and community services. Adding this project fits with the existing neighborhood fabric and helps activate an underused property rather than extending development into new areas.
This project makes efficient use of an underutilized site. The site has been vacant for about five years.
Using this parcel for affordable housing prevents blight, supports neighborhood vitality, and leverages existing infrastructure rather than expanding outward.
Sincerely,
Patti Breitman
Fairfax
From: Rabbi Elana Rosen-Brown <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2025 10:00 AM
To: End Homelessness <[email protected]> Subject: End Homelessness
Dear Mayor, Councilmembers, and City Staff,
As a rabbi at Congregation Rodef Sholom, and as someone who walks daily with our community’s most vulnerable neighbors, I write with a full heart in support of the 350 Merrydale project.
In our tradition we are taught, Lo ta’amod al dam re’ekha—we must not stand idly by when our neighbors are struggling. Every day in Marin County, we encounter individuals and families who are doing everything they can to survive without the stability, safety, and humanity that a home provides. We cannot look away. We cannot postpone what compassion and justice demand.
The 350 Merrydale project offers us a path toward real, lasting change. It is a thoughtful, evidence-based, service-rich approach that honors the dignity of those who have been pushed to the margins. The design reflects lessons learned across our region: that supportive housing paired with onsite services saves lives, reduces strain on emergency systems, and strengthens the fabric of the entire community. It matches what our congregation has seen firsthand from years of partnership with Ritter Center, Vivalon, and so many dedicated agencies—we know that housing first works, and it works best when wrapped with care.
I also want to lift up what often goes unsaid: supportive housing is not just a policy choice.
It is a moral choice. It is a declaration of who we are and who we aspire to be. It is an affirmation that every human being—regardless of circumstance—is created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God.
I understand that change can be difficult, and that neighbors may feel anxious or uncertain. Those feelings deserve respect. But we must also hold fast to our highest values and our long-term vision. A truly compassionate community does not turn its back on those who have the least voice or the least power. Instead, it invests in solutions that lift everyone.
The 350 Merrydale project embodies that commitment. It represents hope, practicality, and moral courage. It offers real pathways to stability for people who have endured far too much instability. And it creates a safer, healthier, more resilient San Rafael for us all.
I encourage you to approve this project. May we lead with open hearts, wise minds, and the steadfast belief that we are all responsible for one another.
With gratitude for your service and your discernment,
Rabbi Elana Rosen-Brown
Congregation Rodef Sholom
San Rafael, California
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Rabbi-Cantor Elana Rosen-Brown
Pronouns: (she/her/hers)
Congregation Rodef Sholom
(415) 479-3441
"Al shloshah devarim ha'olam omeid, al ha'din, v'al ha'emet, v'al ha'shalom.
The world is sustained through the practice of justice, truth, and peace." ~Pirkei Avot 1:18